Big Changes in Little Meetings

On the last morning of the IAJE conference, in a little conference room a few floors above the din of thousands still drinking in a myriad of formal sessions, concerts, and impromptu gatherings, leaders of the nascent National Jazz Platform met with a group of influential jazz presenters and educators (e.g., Monterrey Jazz Festival, Berklee College of Music) to elicit more support for initiatives to raise market share for jazz. In contrast to the gloomy, raw weather in the windows outside, the mood in the room was upbeat and warm. And, while there were lots of probing questions and some trepidation on the part of "veterans" who had "heard some of this before", everyone seemed genuinely interested in figuring out how to make it work.

I've been consistently struck by the commitment and urgency voiced to the industry by the likes of Nancy Wilson and Dr. Billy Taylor to innovate, not only to withstand the technological and cultural changes faced by all kinds of music but to "keep jazz alive" for generations to come. (I was delighted that Dr. Taylor warmly greeted me at his conference booth the day before after spending just a couple days at Wingspread together nearly a year earlier ... gracious and generous). Jazz has its foot in two camps -- the historical / traditional "art form" camp staked out by the likes of classical music and the contemporary / experimental camp that is firmly owned in mindshare by rap and hip-hop. Like any first year b-schooler will tell you, the "middle" is tenuous place to be in any industry because it's easy to get overwhelmed by the giants and cut off at the knees by upstarts.

The annals of business history are littered with meaningless meetings interspersed with a few watershed events, usually in or set-up by the kind of intimate session that characterized this morning's get-together. I hope that someday we can look back on a meeting held in a sterile hotel conference room on a raw New York City Saturday morning and marvel at all that followed.