An interview with - Jake Hertzog, Jazz Area Coordinator at the University of Arkansas
“Any arts scene benefits from jazz festivals because they bring so much creativity together. Once enough folks have performed in Fayetteville, it becomes a place where musicians want to come and play”
Can Jazz programs transform cities? According to Jake Hertzog, Jazz Area Coordinator at the University of Arkansas, this happens because they have the power to create a “critical mass” of jazz audience, talent and venues for the local music ecosystem.
A few weeks ago, Jake Hertzog and Justin R. Hunter, were awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to research the importance of collegiate jazz programs to shape local jazz ecosystems in cities like Kansas City, Portland, and Atlanta.
We found this announcement very exciting.
So we sat down with Jake to have a conversation about this new project. In it, he shared a take on jazz programs that changed our perspective: jazz programs can be pivotal for the city because they provide “The museum, the laboratory, and the venue” for the jazz scene.
Are you interested in how Jazz and other types of music can transform cities? Then join us at the Fayetteville Arkansas Music Cities Convention next year. The first tier of early bird tickets are available until October 6th, grab yours now to join the event at just $99 (full price $400)!
An interview by Liliana Ramirez
First of all, Jake, congratulations on receiving the grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop research on how collegiate jazz programs impact jazz ecosystems in cities like Kansas City, Portland, and Atlanta. I’d like to dedicate this interview to highlighting the incredible work you’ve done in the academic field, particularly in jazz music in Fayetteville City:
Thank you so much, and thank you for conducting this interview to share our work!
Fayetteville seems to have a growing jazz scene, particularly with organizations like the Northwest Arkansas Jazz Society (NAJS). How would you describe the current jazz scene in the city, and what makes Fayetteville a unique place for jazz?
For the population size and location (a crossroads between larger metropolitan areas [e.g., Tulsa/Kansas City]) Fayetteville has a spectacular jazz scene. I think a lot of that has to do with the concept of “critical mass”. Jazz is a genre driven, in most places, by passionate individuals. Fayetteville has been fortunate to have some incredible producers and musicians for many decades that have devoted themselves to making jazz thrive. In recent years, I’ve seen more groups and people get involved as the area has grown. At the University of Arkansas, we began offering an official degree in jazz a few years ago, which has allowed us to integrate better into the jazz scene locally. More music non-profits and other organizations have expanded jazz programming so the opportunities for collaboration are richer than they have ever been. Thus, I think the “critical mass” of people, organizations, and audiences continues to grow and that makes it a wonderful place for jazz. I will also say that NAJS has done extraordinary work for jazz for a long long time and many things we are able to do now, and dream of doing, are a result of that passion that the NAJS members brought to the region.
As a jazz lover and musician, what key venues and artists from Fayetteville’s jazz scene would you recommend? How have these venues and individuals enriched the local jazz culture?
I’ve seen jazz venues evolve and move around since I’ve lived in the region, but a few great experiences stand out. Of course the Walton Arts Center is the main performance space for major touring groups. We have several halls at the University of Arkansas that also serve as great jazz venues. The Music Depot (Rogers) is a fantastic jazz room on the “club” level, and really caters to that type of music. There are lots of bars and restaurants that involve jazz in their programming too, but those places stand out to me.
WALTON ARTS CENTER
Fayetteville, AR
Beyond jazz, are there other music genres or subcultures you think visitors should explore when following a music route through Fayetteville?
Absolutely! Northwest Arkansas has a rich scene for roots music, both modern and traditional. I think the songwriter scene here is also deep with a lot of industry connections on the Austin/Nashville axis. Fayetteville also has a super creative rock scene, and lots of cutting edge idioms like hip-hop and experimental music are also supported here.
The Fayetteville Jazz Collective, with its traditional 17-piece big band, has been a significant contributor to the local jazz scene, performing at various events and festivals. In your opinion, what impact has the Collective had on shaping Fayetteville’s jazz identity?
Back to my comment on “critical mass”, I think the collective has provided a very important backbone to the jazz scene in Fayetteville. It has built audiences for jazz, developed local and young talent, and is one of the main reasons that a collegiate-level program such as ours was considered viable here in the first place. That impact cannot be overstated. Outside of the few major cities with a jazz industry presence (e.g., New York), the local ensembles that become “institutions” are key to providing that critical mass. I think other longstanding groups ranging from Funk Factory on one side to SoNA on the other are also key to building audiences for jazz, employing musicians, and building the scene so that more artists can participate.
As the jazz area coordinator at the University of Arkansas, how do you see the role of academia in nurturing and supporting the local jazz ecosystem? What opportunities does the university provide for students and the broader community to engage with jazz music?
I love this question, and it lies at the heart of my current research. I believe that an academic program in jazz has the potential to be an anchor institution for the music ecosystem and jazz in particular. That concept has many dimensions and interpretations and in my academic life I get to examine that in great detail; but in my practitioner role, I see three major areas: First, as a source for education, academia is a home where anyone can learn about jazz, both performers and audiences. Offering degrees for aspiring professionals, and also community-based instruction is critical to this role, as is community outreach through performances and K-12 schools. The second is a driver for new talent and new music. A music scene needs continuous artistic input, and I think the academy can provide that for jazz. This takes the form of everything to faculty projects to student groups, alumni, and guest artists. A jazz program provides a space for artists to explore, collaborate, and grow, and all that contributes to the local scene. Finally, as a jazz presenter, the academic jazz program produces concerts of students, faculty, guests, and local collaborators, thus, it is a major source of jazz presentation (often, free or low cost). This role ensures that communities can experience jazz, even if they are not as lucky as Fayetteville to have NAJS and other active organizations. So these three roles I consider “the museum, the laboratory, and the venue”, and they represent critical features of arts anchor institutions for a jazz program. All that said, how well are programs fulfilling these roles? I believe that remains to be seen, but in my day to day gig as a jazz program coordinator, I certainly hope to work towards success in each of these dimensions.
The UARK Jazz Festival, hosted by the University of Arkansas, has become a key event in Fayetteville’s cultural calendar. How do you think this festival has contributed to elevating the city’s status as an emerging jazz hub in Arkansas?
Well the UARK Jazz Festival coalesced through multiple efforts by many folks over the years. One of the really fun things we have done with it is rotate the festival leadership between our jazz faculty, so that we always get new perspectives and ideas. I think every great collegiate program needs a jazz festival of some kind, be it a traditional multi-day event, or just some celebrated concert with lots of participation. I also think that any arts scene benefits from jazz festivals because they bring so much creativity together. Once enough folks have performed in Fayetteville, it becomes a place where musicians want to come and play. The last few times I’ve been in New York I’ve met other musicians that had either played in Fayetteville or were looking for a way to line up a show here. That means we are doing something right. I do believe that allowing the University to play a role as a major jazz presenter helps multiply the number of students and guests that can participate in jazz every year. Once again, it takes that critical mass of collaborations between academic institutions, non-profits, ensembles, and most of all, passionate fans and artists. If through the UARK Jazz Festival we can continue building that audience and those fans, then we are contributing to elevating the scene.
University of Arkansas Jazz
Your participation in the Jazz Education Network Conference, alongside other University of Arkansas faculty, has highlighted Fayetteville’s contributions to jazz education and performance. Could you discuss how this involvement has helped put Fayetteville on the national jazz education map?
We have come a long way in a short period of time (with the jazz degree program), and in the last few years we have had student ensembles win international competitions and downbeat magazine awards, as well as build up our festival and host some major artists and projects. Being able to represent University of Arkansas both through student performers and through faculty research at the Jazz Education Network Conference (JEN) is an important milestone for the visibility of the program within the jazz community. I know there is a very long road ahead, but those little steps are gratifying. That conference has a growing research component and the work that I have done, along with my colleague Dr. Justin Hunter, has also located the University of Arkansas as a place where we study not just the performance and artistic aspects of jazz, but the cultural and social reach of jazz education - which we are learning, is profound. We will be sharing some early results this coming year at the conference from our ongoing study on collegiate jazz programs. I hope that the University of Arkansas can continue to expand a presence at JEN in the future!
You’re also actively involved in initiatives like the Fayetteville Arts Council and the Northwest Arkansas Film Commission. From your perspective, how do you think jazz and music education contribute to Fayetteville's broader creative economy and the surrounding region?
This is an important question, and not just for Fayetteville. Jazz is not just about jazz. A jazz scene is an indirect measurement of an entire music ecosystem - jazz musicians play all sorts of genres and are active in touring, producing, recording, and teaching to name a few activities. A place that is good for jazz is probably great for all kinds of music and many art forms. If there is jazz, then there is a natural audience for dance, art museums, film festivals, experimental music and more. I think that beyond jazz, colleges and universities are the unrecognized anchor institutions for the arts and I have been fortunate to witness both opportunities for that role and challenges as part of my public service work. More directly, I think collegiate music education is a critical input source to a local creative economy, as it produces a significant number of creators. Large schools also provide potential audiences and consumers of art and music. Functioning as jazz venues means that a jazz artist has a more viable tour route through our region and so it increases the likelihood of more concerts by major acts, that then build audiences, inspire young players, etc. Now, this cannot happen in a vacuum - a university cannot be the entire scene, but it can help drive and support a scene, and provide stability in a way that no other organization can. So I see jazz education as a major pillar of the local music economy and one that many more things can be built upon…which is to say…now that we offer jazz degrees at the University of Arkansas, we are going to keep constructing new offerings that build upon jazz. As a corollary to that point, the talent supplied by a jazz program can be a major input factor into other areas of the music scene that artists, venues, presenters, and organizations can also use as building blocks in what they may be looking to contribute to the same (music) ecosystem.
Finally, regarding your current research project, could you explain the significance of cities like Kansas City, Portland, and Atlanta in the history of jazz in the U.S., and why they were chosen for your study?
Our current research project (myself, and Dr. Hunter) is an investigation into the roles that collegiate jazz programs play in jazz scenes. We wanted to study locations that had strong college-level jazz programs but that were also in the “Goldilocks” zone for the size of the city and larger entertainment industry presence. So we knew that we couldn’t look at a city like New York or Los Angeles because the effect of university music programs would be difficult to assess in such large markets. We also did not want to look at smaller “college towns” such as Champaign, Illinois, because perhaps the institution would have a disproportionate impact on the jazz scene. So we chose the cities in the study due to their similar features but also because they represented different types of jazz scenes. Kansas City has a deep jazz history so we wanted to look at that specifically. Portland is a modern and younger scene in many ways, and Atlanta has a rich environment for other forms of music such as Gospel and Hip-Hop along with that added industry presence. Thus, we felt like those three cases were representative of different kinds of jazz scenes, with the unifying features of major college programs and arts ecosystems apart from education. All that said, we, of course, imagine many roles that college jazz programs may play, but we are excited to discover if our ideas are realized, or perhaps, not even close. That is the fun part of research!
Fayetteville Roots Festival
Did you get inspired by Jake Hertzog’s perspective on the importance of Jazz programs for music ecosystems? Then join us at the Fayetteville Arkansas Music Cities Convention in 2024, which will be the 10th Anniversary of the largest global conference that discusses the future of music in cities.
The first tier of early bird tickets are available until October 6th, grab yours now to join the event at just $99 (full price $400)!
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