NEA Jazz Masters
Encyclopedia
The National Endowment for the Arts
(NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz
musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians. The award is usually given late in a performer's career after they have long established themselves.
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians. The award is usually given late in a performer's career after they have long established themselves.
NEA Jazz Masters
- 1982: Roy EldridgeRoy EldridgeRoy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Sun RaSun RaSun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama... - 1983: Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Kenny ClarkeKenny ClarkeKenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
, Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St... - 1984: Ornette ColemanOrnette ColemanOrnette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Max RoachMax RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history... - 1985: Gil EvansGil EvansGil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Jonathan JonesJo JonesJo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones... - 1986: Benny CarterBenny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, Dexter GordonDexter GordonDexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Teddy WilsonTeddy WilsonTheodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in... - 1987: Cleo Patra BrownCleo Patra BrownCleo Brown, later Cleo Patra Brown was an American blues and jazz vocalist and pianist.-Life:Brown was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and sang in church as a child...
, Melba ListonMelba ListonMelba Doretta Liston was an American jazz musician . Her collaborations with pianist/composer Randy Weston, beginning in the early 1960s, are widely acknowledged as jazz classics.-Life and career:Liston was born in Kansas City, Missouri...
, Jay McShannJay McShannJay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer.... - 1988: Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
, Lionel HamptonLionel HamptonLionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Billy TaylorBilly TaylorBilly Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in... - 1989: Barry HarrisBarry HarrisBarry Doyle Harris is an American bebop jazz pianist and educator.-Biography:Harris left Detroit for New York City in 1960...
, Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."... - 1990: George Russell, Cecil TaylorCecil TaylorCecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
, Gerald WilsonGerald WilsonGerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, 8 time Grammy nominee, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s.... - 1991: Danny BarkerDanny BarkerDanny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...
, Buck ClaytonBuck ClaytonBuck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
, Andy KirkAndy KirkAndrew Dewey Kirk was a jazz saxophonist and tubist best known as a bandleader of the "Twelve Clouds of Joy," popular during the swing era....
, Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award... - 1992: Betty CarterBetty CarterBetty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
, Dorothy DoneganDorothy DoneganDorothy Donegan was an American classically trained jazz pianist primarily known for performing in the stride piano and boogie-woogie style. She also played bop, swing jazz, and classical music.-Life and career:...
, Harry "Sweets" EdisonSweets EdisonHarry "Sweets" Edison , born in Columbus, Ohio, was an American jazz trumpeter and member of the Count Basie Orchestra.-Biography:He spent his early childhood in Kentucky, where he was introduced to music by an uncle... - 1993: Milt HintonMilt HintonMilton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
, Jon HendricksJon HendricksJon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
, Joe WilliamsJoe Williams (jazz singer)Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:... - 1994: Louie BellsonLouie BellsonLuigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
, Ahmad JamalAhmad JamalAhmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
, Carmen McRaeCarmen McRaeCarmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable... - 1995: Ray BrownRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
, Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer.... - 1996: Tommy FlanaganTommy FlanaganThomas Lee Flanagan was an American jazz pianist born in Detroit, Michigan, particularly remembered for his work with Ella Fitzgerald...
, J. J. Johnson, Benny GolsonBenny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and... - 1997: Billy HigginsBilly HigginsBilly Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
, Milt JacksonMilt JacksonMilton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
, Anita O'DayAnita O'DayAnita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"... - 1998: Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, James MoodyJames Moody (saxophonist)James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
, Wayne ShorterWayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards... - 1999: Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Art FarmerArt FarmerArthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine... - 2000: David Baker, Donald ByrdDonald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Marian McPartlandMarian McPartlandMargaret Marian McPartland, OBE is an English-born jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio, NPR.-Early life:... - 2001: John LewisJohn Lewis (pianist)John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
, Jackie McLeanJackie McLeanJohn Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
, Randy WestonRandy WestonRandy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians... - 2002: Frank FosterFrank Foster (musician)Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
, Percy HeathPercy HeathPercy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother to tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975...
, McCoy TynerMcCoy TynerMcCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:... - 2003: Jimmy HeathJimmy HeathJames Edward Heath , nicknamed Little Bird, is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He is the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.-Biography:...
, Elvin JonesElvin JonesElvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, Abbey LincolnAbbey LincolnAnna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many... - 2004: Jim HallJim Hall (musician)James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...
, Chico HamiltonChico HamiltonChico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
, Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Luther HendersonLuther HendersonLuther Henderson was an African American arranger, composer, orchestrator, and pianist.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was educated at the Juilliard School of Music where he received a B.S. in 1942...
, Nancy WilsonNancy Wilson (singer)Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, Nat HentoffNat HentoffNathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal.... - 2005: Kenny BurrellKenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
, Paquito D'RiveraPaquito D'RiveraPaquito D'Rivera is a Cuban alto saxophonist, clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. The winner of multiple Grammys and other awards, D'Rivera has lived in the United States since the early 1980s. He has worked in a variety of contexts, but is perhaps best known for playing Latin...
, Slide HamptonSlide HamptonLocksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Shirley HornShirley HornShirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist.-Biography:Encouraged by her grandmother, who was an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. At twelve, Horn studied piano and composition at Howard University and later majored from there in classical music...
, Artie ShawArtie ShawArthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, Jimmy SmithJimmy Smith (musician)Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
, George WeinGeorge WeinGeorge Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"... - 2006: Ray BarrettoRay BarrettoRay Barretto was a Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican jazz musician.-Early years:Barretto was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent...
, Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Bob BrookmeyerBob BrookmeyerRobert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
, Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Buddy DeFrancoBuddy DeFrancoBoniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco is an American jazz clarinet player.-Biography:DeFranco began his professional career just as swing music and big bands — many of which were led by clarinetists like Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman — were fading in popularity...
, Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, John LevyJohn LevyJohn Levy is an African-American jazz double-bassist and businessman.In 1944, Levy left his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, and moved to New York City, New York, where he played bass for such renowned jazz musicians as Ben Webster, Errol Garner, Milt Jackson, and Billie Holiday... - 2007: Toshiko AkiyoshiToshiko Akiyoshiis a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
, Curtis FullerCurtis FullerCurtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
, Ramsey LewisRamsey LewisRamsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
, Dan MorgensternDan MorgensternDan Morgenstern is a jazz critic and librarian.Morgenstern moved to the United States in 1947, and attended Brandeis University from 1953-1956. He wrote for jazz publication Jazz Journal from 1958–1961, and following this edited several jazz magazines: Metronome in 1961, Jazz from 1962–1963, and...
, Jimmy ScottJimmy ScottJimmy Scott , aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American jazz vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the...
, Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
, Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:... - 2008: Candido CameroCandido CameroCandido de Guerra Camero, also known simply as Candido is a Cuban percussionist who backed many Afro-Cuban jazz and straightforward jazz acts since the 1950s...
, Andrew HillAndrew HillAndrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
, Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Tom McIntoshTom McIntoshThomas S. McIntosh is an American jazz composer and trombonist.McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and studied at Peabody Conservatory. He played trombone in an Army band, and eventually graduated from Juilliard in 1958. He played in New York City from 1956, with Lee Morgan, Roland Kirk,...
, Gunther SchullerGunther SchullerGunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
, Joe WilderJoe WilderJoe Wilder is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He best known for his beautiful tone and lyrical style.Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006... - 2009: George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
, Jimmy CobbJimmy Cobb-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
, Lee KonitzLee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Toots ThielemansToots ThielemansJean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans , known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century...
, Rudy Van GelderRudy Van GelderRudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
, Snooky YoungSnooky YoungEugene Edward "Snooky" Young was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds.-Biography:... - 2010: Muhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago...
, George AvakianGeorge AvakianGeorge Avakian is an American record producer and executive known particularly for his work with Columbia Records, and his production of albums by Miles Davis and other notable jazz musicians....
, Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Bill HolmanBill Holman (musician)Willis Leonard Holman , known also as Bill Holman, is an American composer/arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and songwriter working primarily in the jazz idiom....
, Bobby HutchersonBobby HutchersonBobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
, Yusef LateefYusef LateefDr. Yusef Lateef is an American Grammy Award-winning jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator and a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after his conversion to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam in 1950.Although Lateef's main instruments are the tenor saxophone and flute, he is known for...
, Annie RossAnnie RossAnnie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
, Cedar WaltonCedar WaltonCedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas... - 2011: Hubert LawsHubert LawsHubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist...
, David Liebman, Johnny MandelJohnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
, Orrin KeepnewsOrrin KeepnewsOrrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
, and the Marsalis Family (Ellis Marsalis, Jr.Ellis Marsalis, Jr.Ellis Marsalis is an American musician. He can usually be seen performing on Fridays at Snug Harbor jazz bistro in New Orleans.- Life and career :...
, Branford MarsalisBranford MarsalisBranford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
, Wynton MarsalisWynton MarsalisWynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, Delfeayo MarsalisDelfeayo MarsalisDelfeayo Marsalis is an American jazz trombonist and record producer.He is a member of the Marsalis family of jazz musicians: father Ellis Marsalis, Jr. , and brothers Branford Marsalis , Wynton Marsalis , and Jason Marsalis...
, and Jason MarsalisJason Marsalis-External links:* from Basin Street Records* from Jazzweekly.com...
) - 2012: Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, Von FreemanVon FreemanEarle Lavon Freeman Sr. is an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He is the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.-Biography:...
, Charlie HadenCharlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, Sheila JordanSheila JordanSheila Jordan is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Jordan has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to a notable solo career....
, Jimmy OwensJimmy OwensJimmy Owens may refer to:*Jimmy and Carol Owens, songwriting team*Jimmy Owens , jazz trumpet player*Jimmy Owens , race car driver...