The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) and the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) have
announced a new five-year partnership to create the Arnold Jay Smith Jazz Journalism Seminars, an intergenerational professional development program.
The seminars honor the memory of Arnold Jay Smith (1934–2022), the Brooklyn-based jazz writer, publicist and educator who was both a co-founder of the Jazz Journalists Association and a benefactor of the Jazz Foundation of America. Funded through a bequest by Smith’s estate, the JFA will provide the JJA with $25,000 annually for five years, a total commitment of $125,000, to help establish and sustain the program.
The Arnold Jay Smith Jazz Journalism Seminars will foster best journalistic practices and explore leading-edge technologies for news dissemination, while encouraging an emerging cohort of media activists to value and build upon the history and legacy of jazz journalism.
“Jazz has always depended on an entire ecosystem supporting the musicians on the bandstand,” said Jarrett Lilien, JFA Chairman. “This includes the journalists who listen closely, understand the history, tell the stories and help the rest of us appreciate what we are hearing. Arnold understood that deeply. Supporting new generation in his field is a wonderful way to extend his legacy and help keep this music and its history alive.”
The seminars, currently planned as discussions involving a select coterie of “fellows,” semester-committed session leaders and veteran guest lecturers, will be introduced with a call for applicants in October 2026, and with Zoom classes commencing in Spring 2027.
The curriculum will address Research and Reportage, Jazz History and the Contemporary Scene, U.S. and International Influences, and Archive and Outreach issues, with results of focused discussions made accessible after the fact to all JJA members.
“Arnold Smith understood that jazz journalism is part of jazz history itself,” said Joe Petrucelli, JFA Executive Director. “This partnership allows JJA to bring veteran journalists together with up-and-coming professionals, imparting knowledge and addressing the changing ways journalism is practiced.
The JJA is a 501(c)3, incorporated in 2004, after having first convened in 1986. The organization currently has 235 members internationally, and, besides presenting the Jazz Awards, maintains the dynamic website JJANews.org, produces The Buzz: The JJA podcast, and provides many consultation services for members and jazz industry associations.
For additional information about the Jazz Journalists Association or the Arnold J. Smith Jazz Journalism Seminars, contact Rebecca Klobucher, JJA Program Manager (admin@jazzjournalists.org).
