Notes and tones: 'Highlights' from the 2023 Jazz Education Network Conference

Just to reiterate – and make a correction from the previous column – the 2023 edition of the geographically fluid Jazz Education Network Annual Conference did take place in Orlando from January 4-7, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

As for the “numbers,” according to conference organizers, the actual attendance stats goes something like this: Adults: 1,501; Students: 1033; Exhibitors: 85. The total attendance stood at 2,534 people, who arrived from 45 different U.S. States, 13 countries and seven Canadian provinces. While my initial “home-grown” attendance estimate – 3,500 – overshot the mark by 1,000, give or take, the actual number and geographical diversity does impress.

Keep in mind, there are so many overlapping and varied activities going on, that there is no way to catch anything resembling a full slate. So, that said, here are some of my personal highlights from what I managed to witness.

The performances

Suffice to say, there was a bevy of fantastic and varied performances – from small group settings to university big band ensembles with professional musicians “guesting.” One of the more engaging – and fun 50-minute sets I heard – featured drummer Allison Miller, a New York-based percussionist whose credits include leading her “Boom-Tic-Boom” ensemble and participating in Artemis, the all-women’s powerhouse septet that operates with pianist Renee Rosnes serving as musical director. In this instance. Miller teamed up with pianist Shamie Royston (pronounced Shah-mee)who, as it turned out was a late sub for Carmen Staaf, who often works with the drummer.

The rapport between the two equally immensely talented musicians was both instantaneous and infectious. Often operating improvisationally – especially given that there was no bassist to anchor the two – Miller and Royston played off and countered each other while working in tandem as they delivered both originals and interpreted standards. The oft-free-formed “Five Notes For Eddie,” dedicated to drummer Eddie Marshall, the late legendary Bay Area fixture, began as the title suggested – with Miller and Royston answering each other with five notes before moving the piece forward. They interpreted a Horace Silver ballad and referenced a Shelly Manne-Russ Freeman-Jimmy Guiffre recording from the 1960s. As good as the twosome was, when Royston’s talented sister, alto saxophonist Tia Fuller jumped on stage for an elongated version of “What Is This Thing Called Love,” the 200-seat room all but erupted

There were concerts nightly in the hotel’s largest ballroom. The set that stood out for me: Brad Goode-Ernie Watts Quintet. The two veterans, trumpeter Goode, a Chicago native turned Coloradan, and saxophonist Watts, from the West Coast, have been working together intermittently for a number of years; they were joined by Canadian pianist Adrean Farrugia, accomplished bassist Gene Perla and versatile drummer Adam Nussbaum. At times, the group reminded me of “electric Miles (Davis),” sometimes playing within an airy, occasionally sparse flare; Then again, they closed with a down-home, dripping and oozing blues, “Jug Ain’t Gone” – composed by saxophonist Von Freeman as a tribute to his high school classmate Gene “Jug” Ammons.

Then there was the set by Esthesis – a cooperative modern-leaning and more adventurous quartet whose members, each directing a higher education jazz program located in a different part of the country, met online during COVID and started working and composing together. Yet another all-female ensemble, the group features pianist Dawn Clement (Arvada, Colorado), flutist Elsa Nilsson (Brooklyn, NY), bassist Emma Dayhuff (Madison, Wisc.) and drummer Tina Raymond (Los Angeles).

The presentations

Within this conference “track,” presentations caught my attention. Top of the list would be Ted Nash’s “Music Inspiration Is Everywhere,” described as follows: “GRAMMY®-winning saxophonist and composer Ted Nash demonstrates how to find inspiration in the sounds around us – from a horn honking to a bird singing to a former President speaking – and how to carry that inspiration forward into the writing and recording of a project. The multi-instrumentalist and long-time member of Jazz at Lincoln Center used several examples to clearly demonstrate how to intersperse words and music to create new works.

We close with Jamey Aebersold, the now 83-year-old National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and surely the international “Dean of Jazz Education.” Aebersold “camps,” which began more than 50 years ago, are world-renowned. Aebersold’s presentation possessed the paradoxical title: "Jazz: Anyone Can Play Jazz. ANYONE!” The delivery was a combination of equal parts: informational, insightful and free-form stand-up, dry-witted comedy with the occasional railing against the tobacco and vaping industries.

Add to that, in the age of PowerPoint and technology, the alto saxophonist-educator used an overhead projector where he placed transparent plastic 8.5” x 11” sheets, with hand-written “nuggets” to prove his point. Thousands upon thousands of musicians and musician-hobbyists learned how to play – and improvise – via “Play Alongs,” recordings primarily of great jazz artists that allowed people to add in their instrument of choice and, well, “Play Along.”

I don’t know that I agree that “anyone” can play jazz, but Aebersold has sure done a great job of making people believe they can. For those interested, here is the link to JEN website. And, as an FYI... the 2024 conference, Jan. 3-6, moves to New Orleans.

Jon W. Poses is executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Reach him at jazznbsbl@socket.net.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Notes and tones: 'Highlights' from the Jazz Education Network Conference