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TORONTO, ONTARIO, January 7, 2008 – Upwards of 7,000 educators, musicians, record executives, exhibitors, media, students and enthusiasts are expected to attend the 35th Annual Conference of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) when it returns to Toronto and the MTCC on January 9-12, 2008. The conference was held in Toronto for the first time in 2003 and is the largest annual gathering of the global jazz community.
Education, teacher training and outreach will be firmly at the heart of the four-day conference agenda that will also feature Canada's most respected and influential jazz performing artists. With the variety of clinics, concerts, and a 70,000-square-foot music industry exposition with something for everyone, the 2008 IAJE conference program promises to be one of the strongest annual IAJE conferences yet.
“We are thrilled to be returning to Toronto for this important event in the world of jazz. Widely considered as one of the most diverse cities in the world, Toronto has much to offer IAJE conference participants. It is a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant nightlife, a strong jazz community, and a major scene for music, theatre, performing arts and architectural attractions. It will serve as an excellent headquarters for the jazz world this week,” said Chuck Owen, President of IAJE.
Conference highlights will include:
• the 8th Annual IAJE Gala Dinner
• the 2008 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Awards Concert
• over 100 performances by internationally recognized jazz artists and school groups, to be held daily throughout the event
• the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition winners
• the world premieres of the works of the ASCAP, Gil Evans, and SOCAN award winners
• research paper presentations
• pre-conference workshops to provide training and development
• The 2008 IAJE Conference Industry Track
• One-on-one live interviews with jazz greats
Note: All concerts and performances are open to registered IAJE attendees only. WBGO Jazz 88 FM, CBC Radio, and Jazz FM 91 are the IAJE Conference host radio stations and will broadcast daily from the site.
“We are honoured to be welcoming such a prestigious group of jazz professionals to Toronto and to the MTCC,” said Barry Smith, the Centre’s President and CEO. “Jazz has added tremendous richness and depth to the arts, culture and music scene worldwide over the past century,” he added. The MTCC anticipates this major convention will produce significant revenue for Toronto’s hotels, restaurants, shops and entertainment venues, with an overall economic impact of approximately $15 million in direct spending.
About IAJE
Based in Manhattan, Kansas, IAJE was founded in the United States in 1968 as the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE) and was originally formed to ensure inclusion of jazz in music education programs at all levels, and to build respect for, and awareness of, the art form. In 2001, IAJE changed its name to the International Association for Jazz Education. IAJE now has over 10,000 members in 42 countries. Its mission today is to assure the continued worldwide growth and development of jazz and jazz education. For further information on IAJE, please visit the organization’s website, www.iaje.org.
About the MTCC
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre is Canada’s #1 convention and trade show facility and one of the finest in North America. With more than 2 million square feet of state-of-the-art space, it is considered a world-class, tier-one facility. Since its opening in 1984, the MTCC has hosted approximately 12,000 events, entertained nearly 40 million guests. For further information on the MTCC, please visit our website at www.mtccc.com.
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For Further Information Please Contact:
Christine Chiu Diana Nazareth
Marketing Manager DL Media
MTCC (416) 815-8883
(416) 585-8106 diana@jazzpublicity.com
cchiu@mtccc.com
BACKGROUNDER:
IAJE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
The 8th Annual IAJE Gala Dinner, hosted by well-known American song stylist Nancy Wilson, who has received many honours and accolades throughout her long jazz vocals career. Ms. Wilson has seventy-plus albums, and three Grammy Awards. Manchester Craftsmen's Guild founder Bill Strickland is set to receive the Lawrence Berk Leadership Award, and the 2008 IAJE President’s Award will be presented to Senator Tommy Banks and Paquito D'Rivera. Proceeds from the ticketed event will benefit the IAJE Campaign for Jazz.
The 2008 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Awards Concert
The IAJE Conference will also host the 2008 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Awards Concert on Friday, January 11 at 8 p.m.. The NEA Jazz Masters award is the United States’ highest honour in this distinctly American art form. Each recipient is set to receive a USD$25,000 fellowship, and the opportunity to participate in other promotional and performance activities. Sadly, one of the 2008 honorees, renowned pianist and composer Andrew Hill, was notified of his receipt of the award shortly before his death. Hill spent 40 years composing, performing, recording, and mentoring young musicians. He earned acclaim for his innovative performances and compositions beginning in the 1960s.
In addition to Hill, the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters are: rhythm instrumentalist Candido Camero; bandleader Quincy Jones; composer-arranger Tom McIntosh; and, trumpeter Joe Wilder. The A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master Award for Jazz Advocacy is being given to classical and jazz composer-arranger Gunther Schuller. The NEA, in partnership with the Canadian Council for the Arts, will also give a special lifetime achievement award to famed Canadian pianist, the late Dr. Oscar Peterson, for his unique role as a Canadian master of jazz. The awards concert will feature performances by Kurt Elling and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra conducted by David Baker.
Other Concerts and Performances
In addition, the 2008 IAJE Conference will feature over 100 performances by internationally recognized artists and school groups throughout the event. Daily concerts will feature professional jazz artists representing the diversity of jazz worldwide, as well as the IAJE Sisters In Jazz Collegiate All-Stars, the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars, Community College All-Star Student Big Band, and a number of outstanding school ensembles from around the world.
Other conference highlights include the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition winners; the world premieres of the works of the ASCAP, Gil Evans, and SOCAN award winners; research paper presentations; and pre-conference workshops to provide training and development for IAJE volunteer leaders and chapter officers.
The 2008 IAJE Conference Industry Track
The 2008 IAJE Conference Industry Track will focus on career development, new media, the recording industry, and personalized consultation. These insightful panels and workshops are geared to members of the jazz recording, journalism, presenting, performing, retail, and radio industries. Also on the Industry Track program will be one-on-one live interviews with Paul Bley and Candido Camero; Dr. Billy Taylor interviews Roy Haynes, Kurt Elling interviews Jon Hendricks, and A.B. Spellman interviews the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters.
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