Legends and Luminaries

What do Nancy Wilson, Tom Scott, Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen, and Dr. Billy Taylor have in common? Besides being among a select group of living jazz legends, all were in attendance at the opening gala for the International Alliance of Jazz Educator’s annual conference, this year held in Midtown Manhattan. Why was I (can't sing, can't dance, can't play an instrument) there? As a guest of MCG Jazz, one of the leading ventures in the Accelerator's portfolio and, as a division of the acclaimed Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bidwell Training Center, a globally recognized social enterprise supporting youth education and adult workforce training programs with its mix of jazz concerts and album releases.

MCG Jazz, along with IAJE through its independent subsidiary Jazz Alliance International and a host of "mavens, connectors, and salesmen" (to use Tipping Point terminology) in the industry, are leading the charge to build awareness and market share for jazz while creating a sustainable business model that fulfills both social impact objectives and $$$ requirements in the long-term. The questions being confronted by the jazz industry are similar to, say, NASCAR more than a few years ago: How do we tap into an existing and rabid community of fanatics to create a bigger revenue "pie" while not ruining what attracted fans to the sport in the first place? How can we best introduce the "product" to people not familiar with the concept or who have preconceived notions about it so that a new generation of fanatics will emerge? How do we prioritize our options and opportunities in light of (at least initially) limited resources? Who are the key players to enlist in both the strategy and tactics to harness such a substantial amount of latent potential?

The artists, industry insiders, and other attendees of last night's gala couldn't have been more visibly dedicated to the music, the personalities that shaped it, or to perpetuating the genre for generations to come. All of that passion and ability to improvise will come in handy as the very entrepreneurial work of reshaping the business side of jazz unfolds in the months ahead.