CONFERENCE OF THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE
of the
EUROPEAN JAZZ FEDERATION
June 9, 1968
BLED, YUGOSLAVIA
Reported by
the Austrian Jazz Federation
The Conference was organized by Miaden Mazur, Zagreb, and Alek-sander S k a 1 e, Ljubljana, and we want to express our heartfelt thanks for the hospitality offered to all delegates. This meeting of EJF was additionally honored by official receptions given by the president of the committee for culture at the municipial council of Ljubljana, Prof. Ciril C v e t k o and by the Minister of Education and Culture of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Tomo Martelanc.
Preface:
During the Int. Jazz Festival at Ljubljana (June 6th-9th, 1968) facilities were provided to allow preliminary talks and meetings of the members of the EJF committee.
These contacts and discussions were of great value and were the reason why the decisions at the official conference at Bled could be made smoothly and without delay.
Program items:
The names of participants of the conference are listed at the end of the report. Apologies for absence have been given by Robert Pernet, Dr Lubomir Doruzka, Wolfram Rbhrig and Hugo Hellemans. The organisers of this meeting expressed their regret that new prospective members and contact persons from France, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland (Lance Tschannen and Andre Berner) could not participate, although they had received official invitations.
Statute:
There was general agreement upon the statute of the EJF. The original edition, taking into consideration the slight alter-
nations and variations approved at the Vienna Conference, should be submitted to the general asembly (i.e. the Constitutional Conference). All official delegates should receive the statute at least one month before the date of the general assembly. The Austrian '´Jazz Federation will take care of that. Don Aldridge, London, volunteered to rewrite the statute in proper English.
General Assembly: Although the Polish Jazz Federation asked to postpone the date of the meeting (which will be officially called "Constitutional Conference") because of financial problems, all participants agreed upon the necessity to act as soon as possible. To express their respect for the work of the Polish Jazz Federation on behalf of the EJF, the participants decided to have the Constitutional Confe-ference in Warsaw, at the time of the Internat. Jazz Jamboree, October 19th-20th, 1968. The Polish Jazz Federation will provide room and board for one person from each country represented. To show their serious interest in the EJF all other delegates will come at their own expense.
The Bled Conference made a list of names of the proposed delegates from various European countries to the Constitutional Conference. Each country is allowed up to i official delegates, who should be connected with:
a) national jazz federations
b) press, radio or TV
c) various jazz institutes, associations or clubs
d) jazz festivals or agencies.
During voting each country is given only one vote, yet all official delegates are allowed to enter the discussion on various questions, to make proposals and to contribute to the solution of various problems.
Observers are welcome, yet must register with the organizers of the meeting in time.
At the Bled Conference it was suggested by several delegates that the seat of the EJF should be in a neutral country with easy and free access as well as free money convertability. Therefore, the Austrian Jazz Federation announced the candidature of the city of Vienna for the official seat of the EJF. At the same time they presented an application, originally initiated by Wolfram Rohring (German Jazz Federation) and supported by other delegates, that the first president of EJF should come from the Polish Jazz Federation. The final decision on all that will be made during the Constitutional Conference.
New divisions:
Since the EJF Library has been started by Robert Fernet so efficiently, the conference decided to start with the work of three more divisions: The .Center for Musical Education (research and exchange of experience in this field) should be located in Munich, where Joe Viera will head this division. Close cooperation should be reached with Prof. J. Gonda, from the Bela Bartok Conservatory, and the Jazz Institute in Graz, as well as the school-and-jazz department of the German Jazz Federation and other institutions all over Europe, working in this field.
The Division of Festival Organizers should start its work immediately. The number of festivals, both professional and amateur, is growing constantly. M. Ma-zur wil produce a calender of all festivals, trying to coordinate dates etc., and list all special conditions of participation and so on.
Stanislav Titzl, Prague, will try to coordinate the management of the various festivals and especially coordinate the booking of artists. Claus Schreiner volunteered to make a list of agencies and promoters and will present the results before the Constitutional Conference. He also asked that all this information (especially addresses, festival dates, conditions etc.) should not
be published in the JAZZ FORUM but made available only to members of the EJF. Otherwise outsiders would only profit from the results without undertaking any committments.
Financial Problems:
The conference formed a committee to find possibilities of financing the general secretariate or certain divisions of the EJF by international funds. Heading this committee is Roman Waschko, who became member of the Preparatory Committee of the EJF; assistants are Johann Fritz, Don Aldridge, and Robert Pernet.
Publicity:
Heavy publicity about the activities and prospects of the EJF should be made in every aountry. Radio interviews and press-conferences should inform the public.
JAZZ FORUM should appear more frequently — and as it showed that this is impossible because of financial problems — the conference suggested that there should be a frequent circulation of "newsletters". Jan Byrczek asked for support of JAZZ FORUM, which will from now on bear the sub-title "magazine of the EJF", by arranging for inserts or advertisements from industrial companies. Once again it was stated that JAZZ FORUM should not try to compete with the already existing jazz magazines in Europe, but should only serve as the official news center of the EJF. Detailed information about the EJF activities should always be passed on to the regular jazz papers too.
International Contest:
R. Waschko raised the question whether the FJF could carry on the so-called "Gulda festival" which was held in 1966 in Vienna. Other delegates suggested that there should be one main event supported by all radio and TV stations, to represent European jazz life. The place of such a European Jazz Festival should change from year to year. The winners of the contest (there should be an age limit for participants) could be granted scholarships at Berklee, Graz, Rem-
scheid etc. Lilian Terry will visit the USA and contact State Department officials whether there could also be "the possibility of a tour through the USA (perhaps assisted by the National Student Association). Recordings with the winners should be made by SABA. All members are asked to study the possibilities in this direction and to present proposals.
Miscellaneous Problems:
Robert Pernet suggested that there should be an EJF information folder which would contain facts and figures about the EJF. Jan Byrczek and Lilian Terry volunteered to cooperate with R. Pernet in this respect. Rud Kuiper asked for information about how the various existing jazz federations function, finance themselves, and from where they get moral and financial support. This information could be of great value for the creation of new national jazz federations. Written reports are expected.
Johann Fritz suggested that official letters of information about the EJF should be sent to all European Ministries of Education and Culture, to the main Cultural Associations and Institutions, radio and TV stations etc. The idea was welcomed but should be carried out only after the EJF has become a legal body. Ernst Salvermoser, the official representative of SABA at the EJF, suggested that recordings under the sponsorship of the EJF could be financially
more profitable, if big companies could be convinced to place inserts on the covers of the records. The members of the committee agreed upon finding out such means in their respective countries. They will also continue to inform SABA about all available prospects of making records with interesting artists and bands.
Austrian Jazz Federation
The participants of the Preparatory Committee of European Jazz Federation in Ljubljana-Bled, Yugoslavia, June 5-9, 1968:
Johann Fritz ,— Austria Brigide Fritz — Austria Guinter Schifter — Czechoslovakia Jan Zabilka — Czechoslovakia Matti Konttinen — Finland Claus Schreiner — German Federal Republic
Ernst Salvermoser — German Federal Republic
Richard Krueger — German Federal Republic
Joe Viera >— German Federal Republic Don Aldrige — Great Britain Rud Kuiper — Holland Janos Gonda — Hungary Pal Keszler — Hungary Karoly Zsigo — Hungary Lilian Terry — Italy Mladen Mazur — Yugoslavia Aleksander Skale — Yugoslavia Miljenko Prohaska — Yugoslavia Randi Hultin — Norway Jan Byrczek — Poland Roman Waschko — Poland