Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Mary Jo Papich resigned from her position as president-elect of the International Association For Jazz Education in a letter addressed to the IAJE Board and past presidents on Wednesday. Her departure is the most recent in a string of challenges facing the organization.
On Monday, IAJE President Chuck Owen sent a letter to its members describing, “the most challenging time in the association’s history.” Owen called particular attention to two situations that “threaten [the IAJE’s] ability to continue to meet its vital mission.” These “significant challenges” include the IAJE’s Campaign For Jazz and this past January’s Toronto conference.
While Owen’s letter stated that the Campaign For Jazz, which began five years ago as, “a means of endowing IAJE’s programs and thus (ironically) assuring its fiscal stability,” this endeavor, “has not performed as hoped or expected.”
“IAJE invested heavily in this campaign and has not come close to recouping its expenses, resulting in the accumulation of significant debt.”
The Toronto conference also left the organization with “an additional debilitating financial loss,” according to Owen. He mentioned attendance as slipping nearly 40% below previous years, which he attributed to, “the high cost of airfares, the weakness of the American dollar and new passport requirements for U.S. citizens.”
The result has been a mountain of debt that sources say could be more than $500,000.
IAJE executive producer Steve Baker said that the association’s financial difficulties are part of a larger economic downturn.
“It’s a hard time for non-profits, especially in the arts,” Baker said. “Even corporations are struggling now. This is not necessarily a vigorous economic time. All of that has had an impact on us.”
Papich’s departure also follows the resignation of Bill McFarlin, who stepped down from the position of IAJE executive director in Feburary.
Owen’s letter said that due to financial constraints, the board is temporarily suspending its search for a new executive director. The IAJE is also suspending its scholarship programs, production of the Jazz Education Journal and the Park City Jazz Summit in Park City, Utah.
“We need to focus on fiscal health of association,” Baker said. “Park City was suspended reluctantly after great discussion.”
Owen’s letter was part of a broader campaign to raise funds, according to Baker. These talks have included reaching out to other foundations for financial assistance.
“We’re looking at every avenue possible to restore the financial well-being of the association so that we can move forward,” Baker said.
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
