NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and Concert Announced for Jan 11, 2011

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Free Tickets Are Now Available for the
NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and Concert
at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 11, 2011
Concert also available through a live broadcast

Washington, DC – The National Endowment for the Arts and Jazz at Lincoln Center announced today that free tickets are available for the January 11, 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert. Tickets can be reserved online at jalc.org/concerts or in person at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located at Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor, open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., as well as Sundays, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Limit two tickets per person.

The 2011 NEA Jazz Masters are Hubert Laws, David Liebman, Johnny Mandel, and the Marsalis Family—Ellis Marsalis, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Jason Marsalis. In addition, the 2011 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy is awarded to Orrin Keepnews.

The 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center at Broadway at 60th Street and feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a program dedicated to the honorees’ works. Joining the orchestra will be several of the honorees performing, including Mr. Liebman, Mr. Laws, and the Marsalis Family. The evening also will feature video tributes to each of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters.

For those unable to attend in person, the awards ceremony and concert will be broadcast live on WBGO Jazz 88.3FM based in Newark, New Jersey, and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's Real Jazz Channel 70. WBGO also will audio stream the event live on their website at wbgo.org.

Prior to the concert, the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters and their fellow NEA Jazz Masters will gather for a group photo opportunity. Members of the press who want to attend the concert or who would like to participate in the photo opportunity must reserve a place in advance. Please contact Liz Stark (202-682-5744 or starke@arts.gov).

In addition to the awards ceremony and concert, the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters will participate in a panel discussion exploring their careers, moderated by A. B. Spellman. The panel will take place on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Varis-Leichtman Studio at Jazz at Lincoln Center at Broadway at 60th Street. The event is free and seating is open to the public on a first come, first served basis.

“Jazz only exists in the interactions between musicians and audiences,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “I am thrilled that we are able to present a free evening—both for our live audience and for the public tuning in to our broadcast—to connect these Americans legends with the broad audiences they deserve.”

“Jazz at Lincoln Center is honored to once again produce the concert to celebrate the great American Jazz Masters with the National Endowment for the Arts,” said Adrian Ellis, Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. “The 2011 NEA Jazz Masters have made invaluable contributions to America’s first art form and we hope that jazz fans and newcomers alike will join us in celebrating their dedication to its legacy.”

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the largest national annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

About NEA Jazz Masters: NEA Jazz Masters are selected from nominations submitted by the public and receive a one-time fellowship award of $25,000, are honored at a public awards ceremony, and may participate in NEA-sponsored promotional, performance, and educational activities. Only living musicians or jazz advocates may be nominated for the NEA Jazz Masters honor.

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 performance and educational engagements in selected communities, featuring NEA Jazz Masters; radio programming featuring NEA Jazz Masters; educational resources through the NEA Jazz in the Schools program produced by the Arts Endowment in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center; and publications and reports. For more information on NEA Jazz Masters, the public is invited to visit the website, at neajazzmasters.org.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is dedicated to inspiring and growing audiences for jazz. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, yearly hall of fame inductions, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, jazz appreciation curriculum for students, music publishing, children’s concerts, lectures, adult education courses, student and educator workshops, and interactive websites. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman Lisa Schiff, and Executive Director Adrian Ellis, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands of events each season in its home in New York City, Frederick P. Rose Hall, and around the world. For more information visit jalc.org.

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