For the 16th meeting of the International Association of Schools of Jazz, we were in the States for the third time at the University of Louisville. (Previous meetings held at the New School in New York and the Berklee College in Boston.) With representatives and students from 20 countries including Argentina, Russia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Israel, Australia, the U.S. and all of Europe, the level was incredibly high as was the camaraderie. We had excellent ensemble concerts and jam sessions, with one of these jams taking place on a boat cruising the Ohio River on a beautiful southern night. It is absolutely astounding to see how the high the level of creativity and energy is coming from everywhere these days. It’s hard to not take it for granted, but the power of this music is very strong indeed. I want to thank my old friend Mike Tracy for doing such a wonderful job of organization. Since this is also the home base for Jamey Aebersold’s annual workshops and enterprises, we had the pleasure of having David Baker, Jamey and pianist Harry Pickens deliver very lively and interesting lectures. Next summer we will be in the beautiful medieval city of Siena, Italy hosted by the Associazone di Siena for the third time which also coincides with their 30th anniversary. If you are interested in more info on the IASJ, go to my web site and click on that section appearing on the menu page: upbeat.com/lieb