January Newsletter

Imagine a city where you can see a big band in one room, a GRAMMY award winning combo in another room, a distinguished jazz scholar next door, and gather with a roomful of jazz legends around the corner. The Jazz Education Network (JEN) created this utopian jazz world for four days in Orlando this past week. I had the pleasure of traveling to the JEN conference courtesy of George Mason University and thought you might enjoy a few short stories from our parent organization (Loudoun Jazz Society is a chapter of JEN).

It would be hard to question the vitality of jazz at the JEN conference. Musicians from middle schools, high schools, and universities from around the country gave excellent performances of classic and cutting edge jazz. A roomful of rapt listeners hung on every word of Guggenheim fellow and Princeton University professor Rudresh Mahanthapa's "Advanced Improvisation" class.

The Washington, DC jazz scene was well represented with a headlining performance by singer Barry Moton (who Matt Trimboli and I had worked with at Mr. Henry's just before New Year's Eve). DC's military jazz bands performed and offered clinics. Smithsonian curator John Edward Hasse lectured on the relationship between jazz and baseball.

Within three hours, I witnessed three unforgettable performances. Berklee College of Music's Advanced Vocal Jazz Ensemble brought a giant ballroom full of listeners to their feet. Next, trumpeter and past-JEN president Sean Jones tore it up with the Army's Jazz Ambassadors. Heading upstairs, I could feel the fattest groove ever coming from down the hall. Jeff Coffin, Victor Wooten, and Nir Felder had a few hundred people grooving and hollering like they were at a Wednesday night prayer meeting. Everyone showed up at the bar for the post-midnight jam session that followed.

If would like to support JEN (in addition to your membership dues for LJS), visit jazzednet.org/join-jen/. Use the coupon code "LOUDOUNJAZZ" to receive a $45 eJEN membership for $24. Next year the JEN conference will be in New Orleans. You might consider attending to see how your grassroots efforts in Loudoun County are connected to an international community of jazz activists "advancing education, promoting performance, and developing audiences."

John Kocur
President
Loudoun Jazz Society