The big news on the jazz education front is the sudden, out-of-the-blue demise of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE). The jazz world is in shock over this development. IAJE was (it takes all I can muster to refer to it in the past tense) the largest jazz organization in the world, with an impressive array of national and international programs, a respected journal, and an annual convention that drew thousands of educators, musicians and fans. Its absence leaves a gaping void. The organization has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing heavy losses stemming from low attendance at this year's convention in Toronto and from an ambitious capital campaign that cost more than it produced (see the President's message at http://www.iaje.org/). The jazz world now faces the daunting task of filling the void. I have to think that some of the movers and shakers from IAJE will regroup and launch a successor organization of some kind. Stay tuned.

Students as Entertainers: Not So Fast?

My brother Scott, a full-time professional musician/composer who appears frequently in these pages, recently sent me something I'd never seen before, with the notation "What's your take on this?" In my more than 20 years of teaching trad jazz to young people, I had never encountered the Music Code of Ethics, an agreement between MENC (the national association for music education, not to be confused with IAJE) and AFM, the musicians' union. What I read startled me.

The Code says that student groups should not be called on to provide entertainment at any time; they should be involved exclusively in education and the "demonstration of education." School concerts are okay, but playing for a local fair (e.g.) violates the agreement (unless the AFM gives permission). This is the case whether the students are paid or not, and regardless of whether the event could afford to hire professional musicians for scale.

Apparently the AFM sees student groups as unfair competition. The fear is that the use of such groups to entertain the public sets a precedent for event organizers that they don't have to budget for live music; they can just use free students, thus undermining the very profession that the students are preparing for. The central idea of the Code is that "education and entertainment have separate goals"; hence student bands should only perform at school-related functions, or at civic/charity events as okayed by AFM, while professional musicians should be the "exclusive presenters of music" for everything else. Further, recordings of student groups should not be offered for sale to the public.

Well, my program is not in compliance with this Code, because the young band I direct performs at public events and sells CDs (their seventh will come out later this year). It has always been part of the mission of my program to help students transition into the professional or semi-professional world by giving them experience in public performance situations. The band plays at nightclubs, festivals, fairs, retirement homes, concert halls, outdoor amphitheatres, churches, parades, you name it. For most of these I charge a performance fee, which allows me to pay a modest stipend to the bandmembers and put the remainder towards band expenses.

Except for charity events where the pros are also donating their services, I believe that to provide my young band for free would indeed be unfairly undercutting the pros. Because of this, and because I want to be able to pay the students something, I charge for the band, but I charge well below the going rate. Thus, the client is not given a choice between paying for music or having it free, but instead has a choice between various price points, weighing value against cost. This is the same process as choosing between professional bands.

I should say that mine is not a typical student group. Membership in my band is by audition, drawing from high schools and colleges across the greater Washington, D.C. area. Consequently, it plays at a high level. The Code seems not to recognize that some students play at a professional level and play professionally outside of their student ensemble. It seems to me they shouldn't be penalized within their school context.

Most professional musicians can think back to a day when they were young and inexperienced and played in their first professional situations. They probably weren't yet up to their elders, but they could hold their own. The professional musician doesn't suddenly spring forth fully formed from the educational cocoon. Achieving proficiency is a process, one that occurs both during and after the school years. Bix, Louis, Benny and countless other giants began playing professional gigs in their teens.

I don't see "professionalism" in music as a black-and-white construct. There are shades of gray representing various degrees of professionalism. Why can't there be room in the marketplace for lesser quality at a lower price, as with any other segment of the market? Why does musical performance have to be "fully professional" or nothing? I say let the market determine who gets paid what. For many performance situations, even a high-level student group is not going to fill the bill. Many situations are, and should be, the exclusive domain of the professionals. But there also ought to be a place in the market for situations in which high-level young players can rise to the occasion, at a price that fairly reflects their level of competency. If a young band is good enough to fill the bill in a certain situation, let them play it and get paid what the market determines they're worth compared to the pros. Not everyone can afford a Cadillac, and not every driving situation calls for one.

At a recent rehearsal, I asked my students (in an impartial way) for their thoughts on this, and in the ensuing discussion they brought up most of the same points I've made above, plus one I hadn't considered: that student musicians need paid gig opportunities to help them meet the costs of their musical education. I asked them, "Will you feel the same way about this when you're no longer a student and are playing music full-time?" "Absolutely," they responded.

The students-as-performers issue points to the larger issue of amateurs and semi-pros getting paid for playing. I'm in that camp myself, and debate has long raged over that issue. Again, I think it's a matter of letting the market decide. Traditional jazz would be in big trouble if it could only be played in public by full-time professionals.

As I think the Code is using the term, "professional" assumes some arbitrary high level of proficiency. But this can be difficult to assess, especially in jazz, where technical mastery of an instrument can play second fiddle to the ability to connect with an audience emotionally. In other contexts, "professional musician" can mean one who carries a union card (regardless of age or ability), or one who engages in no other means of producing income, or some other meaning that doesn't necessarily correlate with proficiency level.

I should point out that a young band should never take an existing gig away from another band, professional or not -- as in approaching the event producer with a "next year hire my students, they're cheaper" type of come-on. This is the same common courtesy that most adult bands expect of each other. But to banish student musicians from the marketplace altogether, regardless of their skill level, is going too far, in my opinion. I don't feel that placing young performers in public performance situations erodes the profession; I feel it contributes to it.

Okay, so there's my "take". This is not an official position of the Traditional Jazz Educators Network, just my personal comments on the matter. I'm happy to hear your thoughts, and I'm sure my brother will give me his!

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The Traditional Jazz Educators Network, formed in 1997, is an organization dedicated to perpetuating the traditional jazz idiom through education. TJEN promotes and facilitates the teaching of traditional jazz history and performance techniques to young people. Membership is free. For more information, visit http://prjc.org/tjen, or contact us at 5537 Belle Pond Dr., Centreville, VA 20120, e-mail jazzteacher@wap.org.

June 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.