With over six years in the education department at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) and a passion for spreading the gospel, Nyala Wright is at the heart of the effort to talk seriously and respectfully about jazz music and its gift to the world. Nyala knows how learning music, how really understanding music, adds beauty to the fabric. And the cool thing is that she works to make sure everyone else understands as well. Jazz education is a beautiful thing.

We caught up with Nyala in a rare moment to breathe for her. Our conversation was nestled between the International Association of Jazz Educators and preparation for Jazz Talk: Jazz in a Hip Hop Generation, a discussion on the cultural and political relationship between Hip Hop and Jazz. And though we didn’t talk directly about theory and harmony and tone, we did speak on the importance of Jazz at Lincoln Center talking about theory and harmony and tone. Jazz education is a beautiful thing.

Nat Creole: Anyone who is familiar with the institution understands the serious commitment JALC has to education, in your opinion is JALC the last line of defense for the Jazz legacy?

Nyala Wright: Not by any means, although we have accomplished a lot in our short life span, we know that the public is the last line of defense. That's why we work so hard to educate them.

NC: How can jazz education in the United States fight against our tendency to eat our young musical art forms? Blues eats the Spirituals, Jazz eats the Blues, Rock eats Jazz, Hip Hop eats Rock and so on. How can JALC fight against our short musical memory?

NW: That's a more complicated question. We perceive one art form to "eat" another because that's the main tenant of today's society. Consumerism. This was not always so, and I think that is at the root of our educational mission. JALC teaches people through classes, concerts, and even dances that culture is what makes a society great. By teaching American culture through jazz, we have a chance of communicating that we are at our best when we work together and that we can only affect our future by knowing our past.

NC: Does jazz have an advantage over some earlier musical forms in that sense because there is a definable culture that has surrounded it? The iconography, the language, the fact that it blossomed around the same time American media was becoming a large influence in the world?

NW: Every art form has a culture around it. I think jazz's advantage is that is so thoroughly represents the feeling and expression of what is means to be American, and around the world American has become synonymous with freedom. It was the feelings and attitudes expressed by the jazz musicians who traveled the world performing that made jazz a globally popular music. Not the politicians and media types who tried to use its popularity for their own purposes and gains. (i.e. to make America look good.)

NC: What are some of the educational programs you guys have on tap for the '06?

NW: We are having: a Violin Master class with Regina Carter in April, Jazz for Young People with Arturo O'Farrill and Ballet Hispanico, Jazz Talks on Blue Note Records and Jazz Festivals with George Wein.

The LCJO will be performing in New Orleans’ historic Congo Square for the first time as well as doing various educational activities during their residency there. We'll also be celebrating New Orleans here in New York during our third annual family gala entitled Crescent City Carnaval. The event will take place at The Jazz Standard and will feature New Orleans music and activities. The family gala raises money for our educational programs.

NC: Nice. On Feb 1st you are hosting Jazz Talk: Jazz in a Hip Hop Generation. The discussion between Jazz and Hip Hop is one that JALC has been accused of being hostile to in the past, what was the thinking that went into the development of this program?

NW: Most of our educational programs are geared towards educators. Many of the teachers we work with are struggling to make students aware of substantive cultural choices. Beyond the bling, if you will.

This discussion is really about showing young people that musicians they respect and admire like ?uestlove are successful because they are students of music and artistry. Not because they buy flashy clothes, but because they respect themselves and work VERY hard. In terms of the hostility surrounding the subject, we welcome it. I say that because, discussion, airing our concerns and grievances, can bring about understanding. Before this topic becomes completely polarized, we need to discuss it openly. That's what we aim to accomplish on Feb. 1st.

NC: Farrah J Griffin ( Columbia University's Institute for Research in African American Studies), Robert Glasper (pianist), ?uestlove and Richard Nichols (The Roots executive producer). That is quite a line up, was it difficult to bring them all together?

NW: I find when booking these shows, that it's a domino effect. Speaking to one interested party, who leads you to another, and etc...We have worked with Prof. Griffin in the past and always have great experiences collaborating with the faculty of Columbia's Institute for Jazz Studies.

I have to give Robert Glasper a lot of credit for bringing ?uestlove on board. They have worked together in the past, and really represent what we were looking for in terms of artistry and achieving a balance of the two art forms.

NC: Is this discussion of the inter-mingling of musical forms a sign of the direction JALC programming is headed in?

NW: I can't really speak for the artistic director or the programmers he works with. I can say that JALC has sometimes been viewed as representing only one side of the jazz canon, mainly the older side. However, the work of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and our vast array of guest artists has represented the breath and width of the jazz canon for almost twenty years. There are people sending millions of dollars to promote and sell hip-hop. That's what they do. Jazz is what we do.

Check out www.jazzatlincolncenter.org for more information on Jazz Talk: Jazz in a Hip Hop Generation in particular and a full season's worth of music in general.