New York Warms to Winter Jazzfest

Violinist Jenny Scheinman is eagerly anticipating this weekend's Winter Jazzfest in Manhattan -- not only because she'll be introducing her new duo with pianist Jason Moran but also because she'll have a chance to catch up with friends that she rarely gets to see.

“Often I avoid the mayhem of festivals," said Scheinman, an up-and-coming talent who in the past has collaborated with musicians such as Bill Frisell and John Zorn, speaking by phone from New York. “But for this festival I'm going to find a baby-sitter for my 4-month-old son and go see a lot of people I haven't seen a while. It's really important to stay connected with people, and that's hard in this business."

A musical community needs an annual gathering where its members know they'll find one another -- record-company representatives, managers, agents, publicists and journalists as well as artists. The South by Southwest Music Conference, held every March in Austin, is the most successful of these get-togethers in the world of indie rock and pop music, and smaller conferences mimic various pieces of the SXSW formula: multiple, simultaneous showcases, workshops, panels, private parties and a trade show.

The annual gathering for jazz used to be the International Assn. of Jazz Educators' January conference, held more often than not at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. But the organization declared bankruptcy in 2008 and was forced to cancel its 2009 conference in New York.

The Winter Jazzfest is hoping to fill the void created by the IAJE's absence. Launched in 2005, the event last year moved from its original home at the Knitting Factory to the West Village in Manhattan, occupying three different clubs on two nights. This year it expands to five clubs, where it will present such jazz notables as Nicholas Payton, Matt Wilson, Lionel Loueke, James Blood Ulmer, Marco Benevento, Lonnie Smith, DJ Logic and Roseanna Vitro.