National Endowment for the Arts Announces 2009-2010 NEA Jazz Masters Live Grants

#JazzBluesFlorida #jazz #blues #Florida #Concerts #Festivals #Clubs

Unique opportunities to engage with more than 25 NEA Jazz Masters

July 27, 2009

Washington, DC -- For the second year, the National Endowment for the Arts will bring outstanding jazz musicians, writers, producers, and scholars to communities across the nation through NEA Jazz Masters Live. For the 2009-10 season, 12 organizations will receive grants totaling $250,000 through the program to support multi-event, extended engagements, featuring many jazz greats who have received an NEA Jazz Masters Award, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. Managed by Arts Midwest, the program offers audiences the unique opportunity to enter into a deeply creative and ultimately personal dialogue with these renowned artists.

Among the more than 25 NEA Jazz Masters participating in NEA Jazz Masters Live events are Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Jimmy Heath, Ahmad Jamal, and Hank Jones, as well as jazz historian and educator Dan Morgenstern and festival producer and pianist George Wein. The 12 grant recipients include venues such as the Detroit International Jazz Festival and the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.


"Jazz artists have wonderful music to share and fascinating stories to tell." said Acting NEA Chair Patrice Walker Powell. "We are fortunate to have among our NEA Jazz Masters many of the artists who have been on the forefront of change and NEA Jazz Masters Live provides audiences with invaluable access to both their music and their stories."

Through NEA Jazz Masters Live, the Masters share their expertise in performances, master classes, clinics, lectures, and short term residencies. The majority of the grantees will present several NEA Jazz Masters. For instance, as part of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in Vermont, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts will feature three NEA Jazz Masters in residence: saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins, guitarist and composer Jim Hall, and critic, journalist, and record producer Nat Hentoff.


During the first year of NEA Jazz Masters Live in 2007-2008, 28 Masters participated in engagements such as:

NEA Jazz Masters Week that included a moderated "sound table" discussion with Nancy Wilson and John Levy was presented by the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.
The Detroit International Jazz Festival presented twelve different events, featuring eight NEA Jazz Masters, included "talking tent" sessions with the artists and performances by student ensembles under the direction of Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath.
Organizations chosen for the 2009-2010 NEA Jazz Masters Live are:

Organization
City, State
NEA Jazz Master(s)

American Jazz Museum
Kansas City, MO
Clark Terry and Dan Morgenstern

Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, LA
Ahmad Jamal and Paquito D'Rivera

Contemporary Arts Center
New Orleans, LA
Phil Woods

Detroit International Jazz Festival
Detroit, MI
Dave Brubeck, Donald Byrd, Chick
Corea, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, Wayne Shorter, and Gerald Wilson

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival
Washington, DC
James Moody

Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Burlington, VT
Jim Hall, Nat Hentoff, and Sonny Rollins

Jazz Arts Group of Columbus
Columbus, OH
Frank Foster

Jazzmobile Inc.
New York, NY
Jimmy Heath, Nat Hentoff, Billy
Taylor, Clark Terry, Rudy Van Gelder, George Wein, Frank Wess

Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey, CA
Toshiko Akiyoshi, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, and Hank Jones

National Black Arts Festival
Atlanta, GA
Jon Hendricks

Outpost Productions Inc.
Albuquerque, NM
Toshiko Akiyoshi

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
Washington, DC/New Orleans, LA
Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Barry Harris, and Jimmy Heath


About the NEA Jazz Masters Program

The National Endowment for the Arts has supported jazz artists and organizations since 1969, providing millions of dollars in grants and awards. In 2004, the NEA significantly expanded its NEA Jazz Masters program and in 2005 created the NEA Jazz Masters Initiative, a comprehensive program of jazz support that includes the NEA Jazz Masters Award; NEA Jazz Masters Live, a series of multiple event engagements in selected communities, featuring NEA Jazz Masters; radio programming featuring NEA Jazz Masters; educational resources through the NEA Jazz in the Schools program; publications and reports. Please see complete information on the website.


Posted by:
Jazz & Blues Florida
http://www.jazzbluesflorida.com/
.