Liner Notes to the 2002 IASJ CD
My main objective when I initiated the idea of the International Association of Schools of Jazz beginning with a meeting in 1989 of interested schools, was that young musicians would be exposed to their peers from elsewhere, all of whom are interested in pursuing similar objectives. That is to learn and be conversant with the jazz language as it has existed historically with an eye towards developing new mixtures in an innovative way reflecting the personalities and hopefully the cultures of the performers. To facilitate this goal, ensembles are formed at each annual meeting to rehearse, perform and as part pf selected meetings, record original material written by the students themselves. But it is not as easy as it sounds. Imagine the following scenario:
You are a student from a well known conservatory in your country and have achieved a certain level of skill to warrant being chosen as a representative to attend the IASJ Jazz Meeting. After being “encouraged” to take part in an opening jam session the very first morning we are together so that attending teachers can hear your level of playing, you are placed in an ensemble with complete strangers, none or few of whom come from your country and definitely not from your school. Of course there may be potential language problems. And although there are two teachers in attendance, they serve more as coaches encouraging the students to work things out themselves. The ensembles are expected to put on a one set performance at the end of the week as well as record in a well equipped studio.
This is a pretty heavy challenge for young men and women, some of whom may have never been outside of their country. It demands acceptance, a desire to share, discipline and practice. But it also can evoke envy, arrogance and/or intimidation. I tell the students the first day to leave their ego at home and be ready to share. They are being thrust into a professional situation where music must be made between total strangers at the highest level. Some of the members may play better, some not as well. Besides the skills called upon musically, it is an exercise in the human condition, in group interaction.
To say that it has been successful for the thirteen years of our meetings may sound a bit boastful, but this is what truly happens. I hesitate to call these young men and women ”students” since their performances are so professional and could easily be heard in any venue throughout the world. At our final concerts the teachers and I are consistently listening with our mouth open, jaws dropped and our heads wagging from side to side because it is so impressive.
The present CD reflects the huge talent that attends an IASJ Meeting. Each group had approximately one to two hours of recording time to do one song. I tried to simulate a real jazz recording session as closely as possible, meaning not much time is taken to listen to playbacks of the take. Just get your sound and do two takes!!! The material consists of all originals by the performers themselves and the styles reflect the incredible diversity going on in the jazz world at this time. It is particularly interesting how the singers were integrated into the ensembles.
I am grateful to the three schools and their staffs as well as the fantastic teachers who were in charge of the ensembles at this meeting. The music is proof that jazz is in wonderful artistic shape in our time. The abundance of worldwide talent is astounding. It is the IASJ which has and will continue to make these opportunities exist using jazz as a vehicle to encourage and promote cross cultural communication on the highest level.
David Liebman
Artistic Director and Founder
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