The International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) will inhabit the Canadian metropolis of Toronto when it returns for the 35th Annual Conference from January 9-12, 2008. Upwards of 7,000 educators, musicians, record executives, exhibitors, media, students and enthusiasts are expected to attend.
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 conferences yet.
IAJE Conference will also host the 2008 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Awards Concert in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The NEA Jazz Masters award is the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American art form. One of the 2008 honorees, the late 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. Other 2008 NEA Jazz Masters are: rhythm instrumentalist Candido Camero; bandleader Quincy Jones; composer-arranger Tom McIntosh; trumpeter Joe Wilder and 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 award to Dr. Oscar Peterson for his unique role as a Canadian Jazz Master.
Artists scheduled to perform at the 2008 IAJE Conference include: Lionel Loueke, Kurt Elling, Aaron Goldberg Trio featuring Eric Harland & Reuben Rogers, Altsys Jazz Orchestra with guest saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Art of Jazz Orchestra with Kevin Mahogany, Barry Romberg's Random Access Large Ensemble, Christian Scott, Christine Jensen Quintet, Clay Jenkins, Convergence, Courtney Pine, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society North, Davidson/Murley/Braid Quintet (DMBQ), Deborah J. Carter Quartet, Dennis Rollins' Badbone & Co., Denny Zeitlin Solo Piano, Empirical, Esperanza Spalding, Francois Houle Octet, Gabriel Alegria's Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet, Gregoire Maret & Andy Milne Duo, Heinrich von Kalnein Songlines, Jacqui Naylor, Joel Harrison and Harbor, Jovino Santos Neto Trio, Kenny Werner & Roseanna Vitro, Les Projectionnistes, MB3, Martin Taylor's Freternity, Marty Ehrlich & Myra Melford Duo, New York Voices with Paquito D'Rivera, Nimmons 'n' Nine Now!, Nordic Connect, Ralph Bowen, Sachal Vasandani, Sofia Koutsovitis, The Delirium Blues Project featuring the NYU Student All-Stars, The Tierney Sutton Band, Tim Posgate Hornband featuring Howard Johnson, Tommy Smith National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Toru Dodo Trio, Valeria Matzner, and many more.
