Dear Friends:

It was an exciting weekend in Rotterdam at the inJazz Conference.  Besides meeting many jazz industry folks (if you could call it an "industry"), SmallsLIVE finalized a long-term goal - the creation of an actual accredited course.  Working with Joris Teepe of The Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Netherlands, SmallsLIVE will now be part of the curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate level students.  The weekly course with the working title "The Current Scene: New York Jazz at Smalls Jazz Club" will be the first time that the SmallsLIVE audio/video archive will be offered as a part of a formal educational class.  Students will be expected to watch live shows from the stream and the archive, research various artists, write analytical reviews of the shows and do transcriptions from the shows.  Advanced students will also be expected to reach out to current artists for interviews and virtual lessons.

We will also focus on defining a genre which we call "New York Jazz".  New York Jazz will be defined as the body of music that grew in New York City from 1900 to the beginning of the rock era in the 60's.  It will involve the swing era, the be-bop movement and the hard-bop era up to Ornette Coleman.  It will involve the standard American songbook and the blues and the importance of the swing feel in jazz.  More importantly, it will be a portal for students to see the current jazz scene in New York as it unfolds night after night at Smalls and to discover the young artists who are now defining the current scene.  From the main shows to the after-hour jam sessions, students will be able to take part virtually in this scene and participate.  One of the unique features that Joris Teepe has introduced at Prins Claus is that he invites a different New York artist each week to teach at the school.  As each of these teachers has performed at the club and are in the archive, this will allow the students to research their teachers and get a taste of their work in advance of their coming.  We will also discuss our unique revenue sharing royalty payout system as a model that could be used in any musical system.  Overall, it's a means for us to disseminate this enormous body of work to the people that want and need it the most - the students.  All I can say is that I'm very excited to get it launched and working.  It is the fulfillment of a long term dream of mine and one that I hope will benefit generations of musicians to come.

Back in New York in our humble basement clubs we have, as usual, a weekly jazz festival of amazing artists.  Remember, one cover charge gets you a pass good for both clubs for the evening so you can bounce back and forth at your leisure.  I look forward to seeing you downtown and in the club.

Best Regards,

Spike