The North Carolina Central University/African American Jazz Caucus Research Institute (NAJRI) would like to invite you to the 2nd Annual NAJRI HBCU Jazz Conference/Festival which will be held April 16 – 19, 2008 on the NCCU campus of NCCU, Durham, North Carolina.The conference will have special meaning as a result of two significant events:

• The 2nd Annual NAJRI HBCU Jazz Conference has been integrated with the 18th Annual NCCU Jazz Festival. The featured artists will be Terence Blanchard and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

AND

• NAJRI will launch its Jazz Hall of Fame with the initial induction of jazz giants who are natives of North Carolina: Max Roach, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Percy Heath, Dr. Billy Taylor, Lou Donaldson, Nina Simone and Tal Farlow. In addition, Jimmy Heath, Albert (Tootie) Heath and the Honorable Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), will also be inducted in recognition of their contributions to jazz.

The four day power-packed conference/festival offers:

• Symposia on issues uniquely affecting HBCU jazz education programs and the African American community
• Development of K – 12 Curricula/Feeder Systems
• Diversity in Jazz Education Teaching Methodologies
• Jazz, the Church and Community
• Vocal and instrumental clinics
• The Role of Jazz Radio, TV, Print Media & the Internet
• Master classes
• Continuing Education Credit workshops
• Welcoming reception
• Nightly jazz concerts
• Photo exhibit of jazz greats
• Nightly jam sessions
• Noted speakers

This conference will be a memorable and exciting event that will enrich the lives of the general public; jazz fans; everyone involved in jazz education; presenters; performers; the media; and business.

PLEASE SAVE THE DATES!

Disseminate this information to your staff and colleagues!

Complete details regarding the conference/festival will follow via mail and made available at the following web sites:

• NAJRI.ORG
• NCCU.EDU
• AAJC.US

Your participation is critical towards preserving jazz as an “American Treasure” to be properly recognized and accorded the institutional status commensurate with its value and importance.

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Ridley
NAJRI Co Director
AAJC Executive Director
[email protected]
212-979-0304

Dr. Ira Wiggins
NAJRI Co Director
NCCU Director of Jazz Studies
[email protected]
919-530-7214

The international reputation of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Jazz Studies Program has been embellished by a collaborative partnership with the African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC), a 501c3 affiliate of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE). Together they have created a new University approved Jazz Research Institute which is the first at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). The title is an acronym, NAJRI which stands for North Carolina Central University (N), African American Jazz Caucus (A), Jazz (J), Research (R), Institute (I). The first major event sponsored by this newly formed NCCU institutional component was the NCCU/AAJC HBCU Jazz Conference/Festival at NCCU, June 20–23, 2007. NCCU Jazz Studies Program Director, Dr. Ira Wiggins and AAJC Executive Director, Dr. Larry Ridley are the Co-Directors of NAJRI.

The opening Conference reception featured a Jazz Photo Exhibit by renowned jazz photographer, Mr. Jim Alexander. Welcoming addresses to the Conference attendees were given by NCCU Provost /Vice Chancellor, Dr. Beverly Jones, NCCU Assistant Vice Chancellor, Dr. Janice Harper and the Honorable Mayor of Durham, Mr. William Bell.

The four-day conference included interdisciplinary workshops, panel discussions, seminars and performances by internationally renowned guest artists: pianist Kenny Barron; trumpeter Jimmy Owens; bassist Larry Ridley and the Jazz Legacy Ensemble featuring pianist Richard Wyands, saxophonist Doug Harris, violinist Krystle Ford, drummer Greg Buford, vocalist Jackie Jones, the American Dance Festival Dancers and special guest saxophonist Ira Wiggins; vocalist Lenora Zenzalai Helm and the Zenzalai Project, featuring saxophonist Antoine Roney and pianist Brandon McCune; the NCCU performer/coordinators- trombonist Robert Trowers and pianist Arnold George.

Some of the renowned speakers and panelists were- Mr. A.B. Spellman, writer and recently retired Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; Mr. Cedric Hendricks, Esq., Assistant to Congressman John Conyers, (D-MI); Reverend Ron Myers, M.D., Chairman, National Juneteenth Council; Dr. Willis Kirk, President Emeritus- City College of San Francisco, CA; Professor Bill Fielder, Rutgers University; Dr. Howard Harris, Texas Southern University; Professor James Patterson, Clark Atlanta University; Dr. John Lamkin, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Dr. Jesse McCarroll, City University of New York; Mr. Cliff Bellamy, Herald Tribune; Dr. Karen Chandler, College of Charleston (SC); Dr. Irene Owens, NCCU Dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences; Ms. Edith Thorpe, WNCU-FM, General Manager; Mr. Katey Assem, NCCU Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement and Mr. Ron Scott, New York Amsterdam News.

The Conference/Festival speakers, panelists and performers have given written testimonials to the quality, substance, need and support for the success of NAJRI’s ongoing programs.
In addition to the Conference/Festival, the partnership was founded to establish the NAJRI Jazz Research Institute Digital Library and the NAJRI Jazz Hall of Fame. Dr. Paula Harrell, Chair of the NCCU Music Department wrote and received a $30,000 Digital Humanities Initiative Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for librarian training. This grant provided an opportunity for Dr. Harrell to take a course, at Cornell University, with music librarian Vernice Faison and library assistants Stephanie Fennell and Yingqi Tang. Cornell is the foremost institution for digital librarianship in the country. The first collection to be established will be comprised of the digital photographs of jazz photographer Jim Alexander of Atlanta, Georgia. This Digital Library ultimately will house photographs, oral histories, sheet and recorded music, as well as other historical documents.