HOWARD MANDEL - The Work of the Jazz Journalists Association
Interview by Sammy Stein
The Jazz Journalist Association was formed by a group of journalists who kept seeing each other at festivals and other events. They formed the Jazz Journalists Association, which works towards upholding the standards of journalism and offering support to fellow journalists. Now the JJA is a strong organisation of journalists, with members in many countries. It provides a reliable base for those seeking advice such as how to approach publications, how to negotiate pay and a platform for discussion and nurturing connections with other journalists. It is open to any jazz journalist and an open, broad ranging body which promotes jazz journalism of a high standard.
Diversity has become one of the driving aspects of the organisation and past projects have included actively seeking emerging artists and giving them opportunities to increase their visibility.
Jazz journalists can seek advice on areas such as filing taxes or how to manage multiple web sites. Much of the information is available to the public but those who become members can also have access to private discussion forums such as the members' page on Facebook and regularly update their membership profile to promote their activities.
It is important to have a professional association with members actively engaged talking about music. As a member of the Jazz Journalists Association you can network with others who are professionals in the field, find advice on how to promote a book, how to find a publicist, contact musicians, get to record labels and promote your work. On a more practical note you can also find where to eat or stay if you are visiting a new country or town, find new editors for your work and so on. The JJA can also provide a stepping-stone for bloggers into the world of professional journalism.
The JJA has been managed for a number of years by Howard Mandel and I caught up with him to quiz him on the JJA and its inner workings and aims.
Sammy Stein: How did you become chair of the JJA and how long have you been doing this?
Howard Mandel: I was involved in the JJA from our first group meeting in 1986. By the early '90s it had become ever more evident that jazz journalists needed a professional organization that could speak specifically for our unique working conditions and personal interests. I lived in New York City, knew a lot of people throughout the jazz ecosystem, and in 1994 was elected president by attendees at a large convening of JJA members. I've always been organizationally-minded, and took on the task of structuring and sustaining the JJA. As it has become a more complex association, no qualified successor has volunteered to take on all the JJA responsibilities, so rather than see the JJA fold, I've continued to lead our efforts, guide our developments and be hub of communications for our large network.
SS: The JJA initially was set up in the US by US journalists. How do you feel the JJA has a wider appeal?
HM: Jazz journalists from outside the US have always asked if they could join, and the answer has always been, 'yes'. However, it is difficult for professionals in any one country to know what counterparts in other countries face in their professional circumstances, and also differences in time-zones have make online real-time collaborations, such as our webinars, hard to schedule. Finances and mailings have also been difficult to coordinate. I've always encouraged jazz journalists outside the U.S. to form their own associations, as our friends in Russia did. Cyril Moshkow, an early member of the JJA and editor of Jazz Ru, established a Russian Jazz Journalists Association in the early '00s, and I think it continues, perhaps informally.
SS: What are the benefits of being a member of the JJA rather than simply accessing the public material on the website?
HM: JJA members get to participate in the organization's activities, including voting in the JJA Jazz Awards, presenting Jazz Hero celebrations in their locales, promoting themselves via the JJA's monthly Members Updates and with professional profiles posted in a Members Directory at JJANews.org. They can also write articles for JJANews that are disseminated via JJA social media platforms and feeds, and gain contact information that enables consultations with a large coterie of colleagues. JJA members get membership cards, can post their year-end Best Of lists, get discounts on JJA ticketed events, and the benefit of knowing they are doing something concrete to establish a voice for our profession among other actors in the jazz ecosystem. The JJA has gone to bat for individuals who have complaints or concerns about those who employ us, and members typically feel united rather than in competition when their works are all acknowledged as meeting the professional standards the JJA encourages.
SS: From what you have observed do you feel the JJA has a continuing role given the number of on-line writers and bloggers and what is that exactly?
HM: Jazz journalism as a paid profession has been challenged by the shift from print to online publishing, but the standards appropriate to professional journalism have not changed. The JJA hopes to represent traditional journalistic standards regarding critical thinking, language usage, fairness and veracity. We also strive to be towards the front of recognition and adoption of new technology and strategies to reach audiences. The JJA continues to be valuable as a network of professionals taking pride in what we do, and hoping for long careers in it, rather than the here-today, gone-tomorrow aspects of less committed bloggers and opinion-mongers.
SS: For a journalist, how would you advise them approaching the JJA to write about their own scene?
HM: JJANews.org welcomes articles about the business of journalism as it affects those writing, broadcasting or photographing jazz, and the business of jazz as an overview that individual members may take as a starting point for their own investigations and reports. We don't publish reviews of music at JJANews, and interview musicians rarely, if they have something to say about journalism or the music businesses that would be useful for journalists to know. In the series JazzOnLockdown/JazzRebounds, we're looking for news on how musicians and audiences, individuals and institutions are maintaining a presence for jazz, pivoting online to make events happen, and other imaginative responses to limitations on live music making and presentation in light of virus-related restrictions. There are many interesting stories to be told!
SS: How do you see the role of the JJA changing, if you do and in what directions?
HM: I don't see the JJA's role in the greater world of jazz culture changing. Jazz journalists are here to sustain the flow of news and buzz about jazz in the overall media stream. The JJA is here to support the efforts of those jazz journalists.
SS: Why jazz, for you?
HM: I was drawn to jazz first by its sound - deep, active, dramatic, fast or moody. I grew up on the south side of Chicago and was attracted to music by black Americans who lived near me, more than the folk music that mostly white college students were buying at the time. I prefer instrumental music to vocals, and liked the interactions of musical players, as I soon learned, acting independently yet interdependently. As I learned something about playing piano, flute, saxophone and electronics I continued to be drawn to improvisation, and when I heard what black Chicago South Siders in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians were doing it struck me as more sophisticated, complex, innovative and meaningful than anything I heard in contemporary composed music, rock/pop (much of which I still enjoyed) or folk forms (including the blues, raga, gamelan, all of which I also listened to, and continue to). Finally, studying American history and race relations, then the music of the entire world, I found jazz made sense, was fun, and gave me hope for a future. I found a lot in it to write about that didn't seem to be in the common cultural discussion, and got mostly positive responses from potential employers as well as fellow listeners, readers and even musicians for what I wrote about what I heard and who I spoke to. Lucky me!
The JJA continues to thrive and support jazz journalists in many ways. They now have an International Editor and are actively seeking contributions from journalists discussing their own scenes and developments from outside the US as well as continued input from those in the US. the JJA already has members in the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic and Canada and is interested in hearing from journalists in other countries to continue its work as an International body of professional jazz journalists working for the highest standards of journalism within the jazz community.
The Jazz Journalist Association was formed by a group of journalists who kept seeing each other at festivals and other events. They formed the Jazz Journalists Association, which works towards upholding the standards of journalism and offering support to fellow journalists. Now the JJA is a strong organisation of journalists, with members in many countries. It provides a reliable base for those seeking advice such as how to approach publications, how to negotiate pay and a platform for discussion and nurturing connections with other journalists. It is open to any jazz journalist and an open, broad ranging body which promotes jazz journalism of a high standard.
Diversity has become one of the driving aspects of the organisation and past projects have included actively seeking emerging artists and giving them opportunities to increase their visibility.
Jazz journalists can seek advice on areas such as filing taxes or how to manage multiple web sites. Much of the information is available to the public but those who become members can also have access to private discussion forums such as the members' page on Facebook and regularly update their membership profile to promote their activities.
It is important to have a professional association with members actively engaged talking about music. As a member of the Jazz Journalists Association you can network with others who are professionals in the field, find advice on how to promote a book, how to find a publicist, contact musicians, get to record labels and promote your work. On a more practical note you can also find where to eat or stay if you are visiting a new country or town, find new editors for your work and so on. The JJA can also provide a stepping-stone for bloggers into the world of professional journalism.
The JJA has been managed for a number of years by Howard Mandel and I caught up with him to quiz him on the JJA and its inner workings and aims.
Sammy Stein: How did you become chair of the JJA and how long have you been doing this?
Howard Mandel: I was involved in the JJA from our first group meeting in 1986. By the early '90s it had become ever more evident that jazz journalists needed a professional organization that could speak specifically for our unique working conditions and personal interests. I lived in New York City, knew a lot of people throughout the jazz ecosystem, and in 1994 was elected president by attendees at a large convening of JJA members. I've always been organizationally-minded, and took on the task of structuring and sustaining the JJA. As it has become a more complex association, no qualified successor has volunteered to take on all the JJA responsibilities, so rather than see the JJA fold, I've continued to lead our efforts, guide our developments and be hub of communications for our large network.
SS: The JJA initially was set up in the US by US journalists. How do you feel the JJA has a wider appeal?
HM: Jazz journalists from outside the US have always asked if they could join, and the answer has always been, 'yes'. However, it is difficult for professionals in any one country to know what counterparts in other countries face in their professional circumstances, and also differences in time-zones have make online real-time collaborations, such as our webinars, hard to schedule. Finances and mailings have also been difficult to coordinate. I've always encouraged jazz journalists outside the U.S. to form their own associations, as our friends in Russia did. Cyril Moshkow, an early member of the JJA and editor of Jazz Ru, established a Russian Jazz Journalists Association in the early '00s, and I think it continues, perhaps informally.
SS: What are the benefits of being a member of the JJA rather than simply accessing the public material on the website?
HM: JJA members get to participate in the organization's activities, including voting in the JJA Jazz Awards, presenting Jazz Hero celebrations in their locales, promoting themselves via the JJA's monthly Members Updates and with professional profiles posted in a Members Directory at JJANews.org. They can also write articles for JJANews that are disseminated via JJA social media platforms and feeds, and gain contact information that enables consultations with a large coterie of colleagues. JJA members get membership cards, can post their year-end Best Of lists, get discounts on JJA ticketed events, and the benefit of knowing they are doing something concrete to establish a voice for our profession among other actors in the jazz ecosystem. The JJA has gone to bat for individuals who have complaints or concerns about those who employ us, and members typically feel united rather than in competition when their works are all acknowledged as meeting the professional standards the JJA encourages.
SS: From what you have observed do you feel the JJA has a continuing role given the number of on-line writers and bloggers and what is that exactly?
HM: Jazz journalism as a paid profession has been challenged by the shift from print to online publishing, but the standards appropriate to professional journalism have not changed. The JJA hopes to represent traditional journalistic standards regarding critical thinking, language usage, fairness and veracity. We also strive to be towards the front of recognition and adoption of new technology and strategies to reach audiences. The JJA continues to be valuable as a network of professionals taking pride in what we do, and hoping for long careers in it, rather than the here-today, gone-tomorrow aspects of less committed bloggers and opinion-mongers.
SS: For a journalist, how would you advise them approaching the JJA to write about their own scene?
HM: JJANews.org welcomes articles about the business of journalism as it affects those writing, broadcasting or photographing jazz, and the business of jazz as an overview that individual members may take as a starting point for their own investigations and reports. We don't publish reviews of music at JJANews, and interview musicians rarely, if they have something to say about journalism or the music businesses that would be useful for journalists to know. In the series JazzOnLockdown/JazzRebounds, we're looking for news on how musicians and audiences, individuals and institutions are maintaining a presence for jazz, pivoting online to make events happen, and other imaginative responses to limitations on live music making and presentation in light of virus-related restrictions. There are many interesting stories to be told!
SS: How do you see the role of the JJA changing, if you do and in what directions?
HM: I don't see the JJA's role in the greater world of jazz culture changing. Jazz journalists are here to sustain the flow of news and buzz about jazz in the overall media stream. The JJA is here to support the efforts of those jazz journalists.
SS: Why jazz, for you?
HM: I was drawn to jazz first by its sound - deep, active, dramatic, fast or moody. I grew up on the south side of Chicago and was attracted to music by black Americans who lived near me, more than the folk music that mostly white college students were buying at the time. I prefer instrumental music to vocals, and liked the interactions of musical players, as I soon learned, acting independently yet interdependently. As I learned something about playing piano, flute, saxophone and electronics I continued to be drawn to improvisation, and when I heard what black Chicago South Siders in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians were doing it struck me as more sophisticated, complex, innovative and meaningful than anything I heard in contemporary composed music, rock/pop (much of which I still enjoyed) or folk forms (including the blues, raga, gamelan, all of which I also listened to, and continue to). Finally, studying American history and race relations, then the music of the entire world, I found jazz made sense, was fun, and gave me hope for a future. I found a lot in it to write about that didn't seem to be in the common cultural discussion, and got mostly positive responses from potential employers as well as fellow listeners, readers and even musicians for what I wrote about what I heard and who I spoke to. Lucky me!
The JJA continues to thrive and support jazz journalists in many ways. They now have an International Editor and are actively seeking contributions from journalists discussing their own scenes and developments from outside the US as well as continued input from those in the US. the JJA already has members in the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic and Canada and is interested in hearing from journalists in other countries to continue its work as an International body of professional jazz journalists working for the highest standards of journalism within the jazz community.
