For three days in May, jazz took over the Millennium Student Center.

On May 20-22, University of Missouri-St. Louis played host to the first annual Jazz Education Network Conference, three days of concerts, clinics and vendor booths devoted to jazz education and music.

The debut JEN Conference, titled “Shaping the Future of Jazz Education,” filled all three floors of the MSC during the days and Touhill Performing Arts Center in the evenings. The conference ran from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, with attendees crowding the halls every day. The conference was aimed at music educators, students, professional and amateur musicians, producers, technician and fans of jazz, offering a chance to network, sample products and learn while being entertained with ongoing concerts.

The conference featured clinics for musicians and educators, with offerings ranging from kids’ programs to professional hints along with panel discussions. Vendors offered sheet music, musical  instruments, CDs, bands for bookings and even a jazz music documentary on DVD for use in fund raising. Music played throughout the event with big-name performers at the Touhill in the evenings. Jazz bands were invited from universities, high schools and middle schools around the country at the Nosh and in the Pilot House during the day.

The MSC halls were packed with conference attendees, including many UM-St. Louis music students, along with musicians, music educators and jazz fans. Attendees paid $150 for the whole three-day event, and the organizers supplied shuttle service to nearby hotels.

“It has surpassed all of our expectations,” Jim Widner, Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at UM-St. Louis, said, speaking on the success of the conference.

“The first for anything, you are a little apprehensive,” Widner said. “But the vibe has been so positive. You have, obviously, a few glitches here and there but that no way compares to all the great things that have happened this weekend – the wonderful bands that we have heard, the great student musicians from all over the country and even all over the world – there was a group here from Sweden. It has been just fantastic, that is all I can say. It just surpassed all expectations.”

Widner was the campus sponsor for the conference, which was presented by the Jazz Education Network, an organization devoted to supporting the jazz music community through education, performance and building new audiences.

This campus was a natural choice to host this inaugural jazz education event. St. Louis has deep jazz roots. This university hosts the annual St. Louis Jazz Festival and presents jazz concerts throughout the year.

The U, the campus radio station, became part of the event as well, featuring interviews with many of the big-name musicians, playing jazz on air and serving as the conference’s media center.

“Everything is going beautifully,” Stephen Engelmeyer, Senior, Communications, who is a DJ at the U and past president of SEMPA, said.

Bassist Rufus Reid, featured on the cover of JAZZed magazine, was one of the guests on the U. Rufus Reid’s OUT FRONT Trio performed at the Touhill on Friday night, along with Sixth Wave and the UM-St. Louis Big Band featuring Stefon Harris, Ruben Alvarez and Wayne Bergerson.

Other jazz stars included the Brubeck Institute Quartet, the Caswell Sisters and The JEN All-Stars with John Clayton on Thursday night. The blues, jazz’s cousin, was represented by the U.S. Army Blues “Pershing’s Own.”

Saturday’s closing-night concert was by the Clayton Brothers Quintet, Marvin Stamm/Bill Mays Duo, Hannes Sigfridsson Trio and Rosana Eckert and Friends. Dennis Owsley, jazz historian and radio host on KWMU 90.7 FM, the campus-based Public Radio station, served as emcee.

The first concert featured Geoff Gallante, the acclaimed 9-year-old trumpet player with the Washington, D. C.-based Capital Focus band, one of the student musical groups  invited to the JEN Conference.

“Our big band, U of I Jazz Band, played yesterday at noon,” Michael Conrad, a trombone player and a senior at University of Northern Iowa majoring in music education, said. “Our director’s group (Chris Merz’) Equilateral played today at 2.”

Conrad was among the large audience listening to the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Jazz Ensemble, from Tifton Georgia, perform in the Nosh on Saturday afternoon. Also in the audience was Ashley Mitchell, Senior, Music Education, an UM-St. Louis student volunteering at the conference.

“I was introduced to [the JEN Conference] by my band director, Gary Brandes. So because of me being a volunteer here, I decided to come to all the clinics and all the performances,” Mitchell said.

Clinics and panel discussion topics were varied. Thursday’s programs included “Achieving Success in your College Interview,” hints for students auditioning for universities’ scholarships and programs. There were hints for classical musicians making the leap in jazz improv and career strategy advice for musicians just getting started professionally. Other discussion topics included “Jazz for Kids/Easy and Fun,” on introducing jazz into elementary school music,  and “Latin Rhythms: Mystery Unraveled.” Vocalists got hints in clinics on scat and improv in jazz singing and educators got help in “Listening 101: Get your students to listen to jazz.”

A special event combined food and music, the “Meet Me In St. Louis Celebration” on Friday night, with a sampling of local cuisines and local brews along with music and surprise guests.

Keith Robinson, station manager of the U, thought the conference was a success and welcomed the chance for the station to participate on site.

“It was a love affair, that I truly enjoyed, it was a lot of work but at the end, it was worth it. We had a few great DJs  who really stuck in, they volunteered and did great work,” Keith Robinson, Senior, Business Administration/MIS. “Really, I think it was kind of a stepping stone for us, as we are a fairly new radio station. This gave us a true learning experience as well, with interviewing and the music we are playing and everything. I think this is really going to help us grow a lot in the fall semester.”

Having successfully launched here, the next JEN Conference is already set. It takes place in another city with a long connection to jazz, New Orleans, on January 6-8, 2011.