A Report on Jazz Congress 2026

As I type, it's been two weeks since I atteneded Jazz Congress, the annual gathering at Jazz at Lincoln Center of musicians (both established and aspiring), industry folks (elaboration to come), media types and whoever else can make it. On January 7th and 8th, a series of panel discussions took place, all geared towards expanding the audience for jazz, as the organization's website states. With people all huddling around the lobby of J@LC, there are opportunities for networking, as well as playing what I like to refer to as the game of Who's Here? 

I hadn't attended the Congress since 2020, just a few months before the pandemic hit. That year proved to be a worthwhile trip (especially since it occurred the same week at Winter Jazz Fest). JazzTimes was still alive in print form and I ended up coming across a story idea, pitching it to my editor and getting the greenlight while I was there. (I even had time later in the week to start on the story, which provided a current look at the ESP-Disk' label. That story seems to be missing from the JT website but it was later published in the Jazz Journalist's Association's compendium Jazz Omnibus: 21st Century Photos and Writings). 

With lingering pandemic issues and a few years where there was no JazzTimes or any other writing opportunities for me, there didn't seem much reason to attend the event. But with a former guru - if I may call him that -  receiving an award, and the desire to try and get back into the jazz fray appealed to me, it seemed like a good time to return. 

It certainly felt like an important time to be discussing ways to reach the jazz audience. Back home in Pittsburgh, the word has just gone down that the once-daily newspaper the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette plans to cease publication completely in May (at this point, print copies are only available two days a week; the rest is all online). Pittsburgh City Paper, an alt-weekly that just happens to have the same parent company as the P-G, was also going under. Which means the ways in which jazz fans can find out about local events and concerts in town has gotten even more limited. Maybe that means people like me need to step up to the plate more. Though a big part of that means that folks need to know I'm out here.

The act (or perphaps the art) of getting the word out to people was tackled in several panel talks on the second day. One panel was titled Jazz and Spotify: How Streaming is Shaping Jazz for Listeners and Artists Alike. The panelists included Liz Pelly who just wrote a book about Spotify. As much as I wanted to attend that one, it ran at the same time as The Future of Public Radio, which was moderated by no less than Scott Hanley, the General Manager of WZUM- The Pittsburgh Jazz Channel (he's on the far right, below). 

Along with Hanley, the panel (pictured above) included, left to right Bill Johnson (WRTI-FM, Philadelphia), Marta McLellan Ross (NPR), Ken Poston (KSDS-FM, San Diego) and Steve Williams (WBGO-FM, New Jersey). 

Another blow to the industry came a few days earlier when the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced that it was voting to dissolve. Hanley, who was a fountain of important info throughout, took the opportunity to quote Lyndon B. Johnson, who was president was the CPB was established. "It will get part of its support from our Government. But it will be carefully guarded from Government or from party control. It will be free, and it will be independent-and it will belong to all of our people."

Hopeful words that have been dashed by the blatant disregard for media and reporting in general these days. But in the room that day, the panelists remained committed to their work and continuity seemed like a forgone conclusion. When the question was raised why radio stations still matter, Williams replied, "Because we have constitutents to serve."  Johnson, whose station broadcasts both classical and jazz music, added, "We're stewards for the university [Temple] and we have a responsibility for what's ideal. It's a relationship we're managing."

Later that afternoon, a friend joked that a panel titled The Changing Media Landscape was going to be bleak. But if anything, the crew of writers and publicists on the panel - moderated by Larry Blumenfeld - also seemed more optimistic, if not simply just determined to plow forward. Publicist Lydia Liebman (third from left above) compared efforts to promote artists as similar "to the Wild West," where so much product is on the marketplace. NPR Music's Executive Producer Suraya Mohamed (next to Blumenfeld) agreed. Michael J. Moore (far right), a New York Times contributor, said his "career has always been about [spotlighting] people you should know," something he does both in print and online. 

As things wrapped up, Blumenfeld probably summed things up best by opining, "There is still a potent jazz ecosystem, but not the same connective tissue."

The previous day's opening discussions were a little more easy going, at least the ones I saw. Juke Box Jury always seemed like something that would not appeal to a free skronk lovin' guy like me. But it was the first panel of the day and a good adventure to kick it off. 

The format of the event features a batch of new music excerpts being played for a "jury" of radio folks, in this case, left to right above, Michael Valentine (WDNA), Sheryl K. Symister-Masterson (Jazz/Fluxus), Leo Sidran (The Third Story), Rachel Smith (WKCR) and moderator Jae Sinnett (WHRV). After 30 to 60 seconds of music, everyone is asked for their take on the music.

The nine selections included a vocalist setting up a rather dramatic post-romance scenario (Sylvia Brooks), a tenor saxophone leading a drummer who sounded inspired by Elvin Jones (Rick Roe), a tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson (Scott Routenberg Trio) and some greasy B3 organ/guitar work (Dave Stryker). 

As someone who usually needs at least two full listens to a track before knowing if I like it, I agreed with Valentine, who commented, "I'd like to see how long [the track] would be," after hearing a snatch of a tune by saxophonist Noah Preminger. The whole radio station approach -  where some programmers insist that you don't play a track that starts with a bass solo - is not something that I agree with. Sinnett commented, "We need to play accessible music these days, when we need funding." True in a way, but jazz listeners like a challenge too.

Further, 30 seconds isn't enough to really enough to make a decision to these ears. After initially balking at Brooks' overly dramatic story, I found myself wanting to know where the song went next. The initial jarring dissonance of Meg Okura's Pan Asian Jazz Ensemble got more intriguing as it continued. 

Later that day, Lee Mergner received the Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award, an honor he took with a bit of a shrug because, as one of the founders of Jazz Congress and an organizer of the event, he was the one to place the order for the trophy itself. Nevertheless, as the former editor of JazzTimes and organizer of Jazz Connect (the event the pre-dated Jazz Congress), Mergner has done a lot for the music and the people in it. Thankfully his wife convinced him to take it. 

Christian McBride introduced Merger, stealing some of the honoree's material, and adding that he had "a celestial message" from the late jazz critic Stanley Crouch from the great beyond who had a message about where the trophy could be shoved. Mergner, without missing a beat, adding that if Crouch came back, he could fire him again. On a more serious note, Mergner brushed off the idea that he "singlehandedly" kept events like Jazz Congress alive, saying that he, like musicians, collaborates with a host of people. In closing he added, "My life is all in my work - and it hasn't felt like work."

The year's keynote address came from actor Wendell Pierce, a strong jazz advocate who, among other roles played trombonist Antoine Batiste of the HBO series Treme. "Culture is not a luxury, it's a necessity," he said, pointing out something that seems to have been lost at places like the Kennedy Center in recent weeks.

"This nation does not need more volume, it needs more listening," he said, adding later, "Keep playing as if connection is possible, because it is!"