International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers

International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers
Name	International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers
Formation	1988
Type	Nonprofit organization
Purpose	Support for jazz composition and arranging
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Region	International
Language	English

International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the craft of jazz arranging and composition worldwide. Founded by working composers and arrangers, the Society connects practitioners through conferences, publications, and awards, and collaborates with orchestras, conservatories, and festivals to promote new works and pedagogical initiatives. Its activities intersect with major institutions, ensembles, and figures across the jazz and classical music worlds.

History

The Society was established in 1988 amid renewed interest in big band writing and small-ensemble composition, emerging alongside organizations such as Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and conservatory programs at Berklee College of Music, The Juilliard School, and New England Conservatory. Founders included arrangers active in scenes linked to Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and later collaborators with Stan Kenton and Gerry Mulligan-era ensembles. Early partnerships involved presenters like Village Vanguard, Blue Note Records, and broadcasters including National Public Radio and BBC Radio. The Society built relationships with composers associated with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dave Brubeck, Clifford Brown, Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, and educators such as Gunther Schuller and Bob Brookmeyer.

Mission and Activities

The Society's stated mission centers on advocacy for composers and arrangers working in jazz and related idioms, fostering connections among professionals associated with New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and contemporary ensembles tied to Snarky Puppy, Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Bob Mintzer Big Band. Activities include commissioning projects with presenters like Carnegie Hall, collaboration with academic programs at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, University of North Texas College of Music, and hosting workshops featuring artists from labels such as ECM Records, Impulse! Records, Blue Note Records, Verve Records, and Motéma Music. The Society promotes repertoire that intersects with artists and composers including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, and modern figures like Kurt Elling, Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding, and Kamasi Washington.

Membership and Organization

Membership comprises professional arrangers, composers, educators, and students with ties to institutions such as Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and conservatories in Vienna, Paris Conservatory, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The governance structure reflects practices used by organizations like ASCAP, BMI, PRS for Music, and Society of Composers & Lyricists, with an elected board, advisory panels of figures linked to Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza, Terence Blanchard, Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, and committees that coordinate activities with festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, and Monterey Jazz Festival.

Annual Conferences and Events

The Society organizes annual conferences that bring together composers and arrangers alongside presenters from Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and broadcasters like CBS and BBC. Conferences feature masterclasses with faculty from New England Conservatory, repertoire readings with members from WDR Big Band, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and premieres commissioned for ensembles connected to The Danish Radio Big Band, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and university ensembles at University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Events often coincide with major festivals including Umbria Jazz Festival and Detroit Jazz Festival and engage with recording engineers and producers affiliated with studios like Abbey Road Studios and labels such as Deutsche Grammophon for cross-genre collaborations.

Awards and Recognition

The Society administers awards and commissions that have recognized work by arrangers and composers who later received honors from The Grammy Awards, Pulitzer Prize for Music, NEA Jazz Masters, MacArthur Fellowship, and national arts councils across Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Recipients have included artists in the lineage of Maria Schneider, Vince Mendoza, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, John Hollenbeck, Ellen Rowe, Gerald Wilson, and younger composers emerging from programs at Berklee and Juilliard. The awards have been presented at ceremonies in venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and civic centers in Los Angeles, New York City, and London.

Publications and Educational Programs

The Society publishes scores, arranging manuals, and a journal featuring articles by contributors tied to DownBeat, JazzTimes, The New York Times, and scholars from Columbia University, Harvard University, and Oxford University Press-affiliated authors. Educational offerings include summer institutes, online courses with faculty connected to Berklee Online, masterclasses led by arrangers associated with Giorgio Moroder-era studio work, and curriculum partnerships with conservatories at Royal College of Music and Conservatoire de Paris. Published materials have spotlighted techniques used by arrangers for artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Anita O'Day, and modern ensembles like The Bad Plus.

Influence and Legacy

The Society has influenced repertoire programming at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and international orchestras, contributing to commissions performed by ensembles like Maria Schneider Orchestra, Vince Mendoza's Big Band, and university jazz orchestras at University of North Texas. Its legacy is visible in the careers of arrangers who moved into film work for studios such as Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and collaborations with composers linked to Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and Ennio Morricone-influenced scoring. The Society's networks continue to shape pedagogy at Berklee College of Music, The Juilliard School, and conservatories worldwide, sustaining a lineage that traces back to Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and the modern innovators of jazz composition.

Category:Music organizations