Bob Mintzer and Dave Stryker 01/07/12
The 3rd annual Jazz Education Network Conference is now history. Louisville's Galt House played host to this roughly three day extravaganza that included concerts, seminars and displays there were all geared to fit everyone from the beginner to the seasoned pro.
Louisville has a strong arts community but is far from what most people would consider a jazz city. There is an N.P.R affiliate here that plays jazz in incremental segments, normally listened to by the chronically unemployed or the insomniac up at odd hours. To land such a noted conference is indeed a feather in the convention cap for the local tourist dollar and one can only hope local civic leaders will invest their time and hopefully money into bringing similar endeavors to the Derby City.
Connecting and reconnecting with old musical friends was a joy. The occassional annoyance that some of the more influential artists that rarely visit our fair city were often playing at the same time or at opposite ends of the facilities did occur daily. Logistical concerns are about the only negative issue one could bring up concerning this three day jazz smorgasbord.
Jazz is far from dead. As Nashville saxophonist Rashaan Barber commented, "Jazz is inclusive." Perhaps the misguided notion that jazz is dead is contingent upon how the individual defines jazz to begin with. Motema recording artist Roni Ben-Hur added that you can no more kill an art form then you can the spirit of a people. Jazz is at times cyclical. Sonny Rollins once stated there is really nothing new in jazz and the music is a derivative byproduct of itself.
Jazz is more than a proud lineage of musical history. Jazz is a feeling, an attitude, a way of life. There is a unique spirituality to jazz that seems to be missing from other forms of music. It is that special individualistic spirit of celebration that will never kill jazz.
A good critic can only share a perspective and hopefully channel the same sense of passion that the artist is attempting to share in an effort to pass along the active history of jazz today. My experience at the "Jen" Conference was of sheer delight and ironic sadness at the departure on the final day. There will be some interviews published with some of the recording artists mentioned throughout my diary of events so I hope you will be on the look out for these.
Kudos to the Jazz Education Network on a job well done!
www.jazzednet.org
