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Jazz at Wingspread Raising Market Share for Jazz
Thirty-five attendees will gather to discuss opportunities and strategies to bring Jazz Music to a wider audience and enhance the brand of Jazz.
Bruce Lundvall, CEO of Blue Note Records and Chairman of Jazz Alliance International (JAI) states, “This gathering will be of particular significance to the field; we hope to achieve a common purpose and understanding of jazz beyond the music as a brand, life experience and economic engine."
Over 450 years of jazz industry experience and 250 years of business development experience together for the first time will be represented at the conference.
Elements of Jazz are present in many aspects of life, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh non-profit Arts and Training Center, Bill Strickland states, “Jazz music celebrates the human spirit and represents hope in its purest form. There is no question in my mind that Jazz is part of the answer to the spiritual cancer that has infected society."
NEA Jazz Master and renown Jazz Educator Dr. Billy Taylor commented on the Wingspread conference, “Never before has there been a time in the United States that the Jazz Industry was positioned with the needed critical mass to work together on behalf of the cultural institution of Jazz."
“Raising Market Share for Jazz" is sponsored by MCG Jazz, Jazz Alliance International, The Johnson Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, Ford Foundation, and International Association for Jazz Education.
A blog site will post some of the activities of the conference throughout the two days the group is gathered. Visit http://www.jazzatwingspread.blogspot.com/ to review the initiatives and post your comments and suggestions.
Conference Attendees
* Alfred “Burr" Wishart - Retired Foundation Director
* Andre Guess - Jazz at Lincoln Center
* Arif Gursel - Invisible Man Entertainment
* Barry K. Robinson - Recording Industry Association of America
* Bill McFarlin and David Caffey - (IAJE)
* Bill Strickland - Manchester Craftsmen's Guild
* Dr. Billy Taylor - Jazz Musician and Educator
* Boyd Gibbons - The Johnson Foundation
* Bruce Lundvall - Blue Note Records
* Glen Barros - Concord Records
* Jay Weigel - Center for Contemporary Arts New Orleans (CACNO)
* John Clayton - Jazz Musician and Educator
* Johnson Chow and Julie Liu - Stone Yamashita Partners
* Kevin Struthers - Jazz at Kennedy Center
* Lee Mergner - JazzTimes
* Leslie Latham - Marketing Consultant
* Marquita Pool-Eckert - CBS Sunday Morning
* Marty Ashby and Renee Govanucci - MCG Jazz
* Paxton Baker - BET on Jazz
* Rick Wise - Mercer Management Consulting
* Rosemary Fitzgerald - Spider Web Studio
* Suzan Jenkins - Jazz Alliance International (JAI)
* Tim Jackson - Monterey Jazz Festival
* Tim Zak - Pittsburgh Social Enterprise Accelerator
* Tony Bucci - MARC USA
* Tony Torres - NOVA Chemicals
* Valdis Krebs - Social Network Analyst
* Willard Jenkins - Open Sky Jazz
MCG Jazz Brief Background
MCG Jazz is a division of Manchester Craftsmen¹s Guild, a non-profit arts and learning center located in the North Side of Pittsburgh, PA. This multi-discipline, minority-directed center provides hope and life skills to youth and adults in urban environments through vocational training, business partnerships, jazz education and visual arts. MCG Jazz, as an integral part of the Manchester Craftsmen¹s Guild, is dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting jazz. Now in its19th season, MCG Jazz is the longest running consecutive subscription series for jazz performance in the United States. MCG Jazz record label, the social venture of the program, has received four GRAMMY® Award nominations and won three GRAMMY® Awards. www.mcg-btc.org
JAI Brief Background
Jazz Alliance International (JAI) is a subsidiary of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and is dedicated to expanding the audience and visibility of jazz by raising the profile of the jazz art form and fostering better working relationships within the global jazz community. The Alliance aims to preserve and promote the vital heritage of America's national treasure by implementing strategies to enhance the development of the music and its audiences. JAI is a vehicle that serves as a voice for members of the jazz industry which includes artists, artist representatives, publishers, recording companies, manufacturers, presenters, non-profits, and media. www.jazzai.org
IAJE Brief Background
The mission of the International Association for Jazz Education is to assure the continued worldwide growth and development of jazz and jazz education. Presently, active memberships total upwards of 8,000 teachers, musicians, students, music industry representatives, and enthusiasts in 35 countries. Now in its 32nd year, IAJE¹s annual conference attracts 8,000-10,000 educators, musicians, students and music business professional from 40 countries. www.iaje.org
For more information contact All About Jazz.
