Jazz Education Network Conference

Oliver Groenewald | January 21, 2017

We had an outstanding five days in New Orleans this January at the JEN conference. Nothing compares to waking up and going to bed with jazz music. The hotel was huge yet the rooms were located around the edges like a centrifuge with an open 35 floor ceiling if you can imagine.

So the music just floated through the entire hotel. It was like the Starship Enterprise hosting a massive jazz workshop. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a guest not attending the conference but the hotel could have charged extra just to have the opportunity to fill your heart and soul to the brim with music. And as much as I did love the music, I was particularly taken with the young men and women from as young as 14 who participated in open rehearsals at 7am, late night concerts and jam sessions along with the chance to be in an audience full of musicians of all ages. So often Jazz is behind closed doors available only if you are over 21. This is an amazing venue for ALL AGES!

Personally, it was a joy to meet the cats who knew my Dad back in the day. His reputation on the horn, and off were great. He was always the life of the party cracking people up with his humor and them blowing them away with his sound.