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A swingin' good time: Jazz Education Network Conference 2013 (Jan 2-5, Atlanta, GA)

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Category: Current News

Published on Monday, 21 January 2013 16:11

Written by Aaron Latos

I think we can all agree: gear is great, and drum/equipment related gatherings can be quite the ticket (especially certain get-togethers, like the Nashville Drum Show, ahem). However, if you're looking for a music-related conference that focuses on the "bigger picture" and are any degree of jazz fan, working musician, or music educator, you would be hard-pressed to find a better gathering than the Jazz Education Network's yearly conference.

The 2013 Jazz Education Network, or JEN, conference is quickly approaching, and if last year's event is any indication, the upcoming gathering will be packed full of informative, engaging, and entertaining presentations, performances, and exhibits.

While billed primarily as an event for the jazz education community, many of the presentations at the 2012 edition of the conference, centered on topics of practical interest to working musicians as well as music teachers of any stripe. From instrumental technique to pedagogy and jazz history, last year's JEN conference touched on a wide variety of pertinent, practical topics, and there were many presentations of particular interest to drummers.

Steve Houghton (Indiana University percussion/jazz professor and author) and Steve Fidyk (drummer for the Army Blues, Temple University educator, and author) led drumset clinics on the jazz style and sight-reading, respectively, while drummer/percussionist Bobby Sanabria gave an engaging presentation on the history of Latin jazz. Loren Schoenberg, of the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, led a jaw-dropping presentation on the Savory Collection, a recently-discovered cache of incredibly preserved recordings of 1930s and 1940s jazz recordings. From the drummer's perspective, hearing the subtle brush sweeps, hihat patterns, and press rolls of drumming luminaries such as "Papa" Joe Jones in unprecedented fidelity was a breathtaking and ear-opening experience.

In the exhibit hall, booths by Zildjian, Sabian, and Ludwig featured some great deals on demo products and sneak peaks at upcoming Winter NAMM surprises, and numerous publishers offered great deals on books.

That was 2012... and the upcoming 2013 looks to be even bigger and better!

If you're in the Atlanta area, or can make the commute for one or more of the three-and-a-half day festivities this year, I highly, highly recommend the workshop.

For the sake of accuracy, I'll point you to the JEN website rather than prematurely report a schedule-in-progress, but it's undeniable that the upcoming gathering's schedule of events looks great! Full details on the 2013 JEN Conference and a list of this years' performances, workshops, and exhibitors are available at: http://jazzednet.org

-Aaron

Site Improvements!

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Category: Current News

Published on Saturday, 01 December 2012 21:53

Written by Bill Ray

Hey All!

Just a quick one here....lots of site improvements today- new slideshow on the front page, new navigation strategy! Go check it out, crawl around and update any bookmarks.