The Jazz Journalists Association — in association with the Jazz Institute of Chicago — is producing a Creative Music Media Summit, free and open to the public, from 10 am to 4:30 pm on Tuesday, August 27 at Harold Washington College, 30 E. Lake Street in Chicago. Plenary sessions, panel discussions and one-on-one “Ask the Expert” consultations are being aimed to convene professional music journalists including writers, editors, publishers, photographers, broadcasters, videographers along wiith students, musicians, music industry and music education principals, audience members, readers, thinkers and/or the general interested in dissemination of news and views of jazz, improvisation, new composition and unusual forms of musical creativity.
Registration is encouraged; PLEASE RSVP
The Summit will feature a keynote address by Chicago-base author, editor, columnist, former Sun-Times editorial writer, blogger and radio show host Lloyd Sachs. Confirmed panelists include staff from DownBeat magazine and the Chicago Reader, Mike Jeffers (Chicago Jazz Magazine), Paul Abella (WDCB-FM), Ayana Contreras (WBEZ-FM/Vocalo Radio), Neil Tesser (JJA board), Michael Jackson (freelance writer and photographer), Mashaune Hardy (social media manager and videographer of the Jazz Institute of Chicago), photographers Lauren Deutsch and Marc PoKempner, improvising painter Lewis Achenbach and writer/NPR arts reporter/JJA president/JIC board member Howard Mandel. Possible documentation of the sessions for post-event access is currently being explored.
The Summit is being held in loose conjunction with the 41st annual free Chicago Jazz Festival, which holds concerts in Millennium Park, August 29 – Sept 1. After the Summit on August 27, attendees are invited to hear tenor saxophonist Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s free Tuesdays on the Terrace show.
The Jazz Journalists Association was founded following a conference of jazz writers, photographers and broadcasters produced by the National Jazz Service Organization in 1986. There are more than two dozen professional (if not necessarily full-time) jazz journalists in the Chicago area, and an estimated twice as many unaffiliated colleagues, depending on definitions. The 41st annual Chicago Jazz Festival is programmed by a committee from the Jazz Institute of Chicago in affiliation with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Thanks to DCASE, this year’s Festival has enabled local venues to present music in the week prior to the Millennium Park concerts free of cover charge.
For further information about the Creative Music Media Summit, email President@JazzJournalists.org.
