Recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony & concert on
January 13, 2014, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New
York City, which will be webcast live at arts.gov and
jalc.org/live
On June 27, 2013, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters,
all unique in their approaches to jazz. Whether it's
Richard
Davis and
Keith Jarrett bringing their jazz background
into other musical genres such as classical music and rock and roll,
Anthony Braxton's avant-garde creations which defy
categorization, or
Jamey Aebersold's development of an
interactive jazz education tool that can be used anywhere, these artists all
show how the art form is evolving and growing in our country. These musicians
and educators, now awarded the nation's highest honor in the field, are
recognized for their lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions to the
advancement of jazz.
They will each receive a one-time award of
$25,000.
NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, "On behalf of the National Endowment
for the Arts, I am proud to announce the newest class of NEA Jazz Masters. The
NEA is committed to supporting this uniquely American art form, whether it's
through educational materials such as NEA Jazz in the Schools, supporting
performance and educational activities by the Jazz Masters through Jazz Masters
Live, or in this case, honoring the individuals who have devoted their lives and
careers to mastering, sharing, and expanding this music."
2014 NEA Jazz Masters
JAMEY
AEBERSOLD*
Educator, Saxophonist, Pianist, Bassist, Banjo
player
Born in and currently resides in New Albany, Indiana
* Jamey Aebersold is the recipient of the 2014 A.B. Spellman
NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, which is bestowed upon an individual
who has contributed significantly to the appreciation, knowledge, and
advancement of the art form of jazz.
"Jamey Aebersold has made enormous contributions to the jazz world through
his tireless efforts as a performer, educator, and publisher," said 2000 NEA
Jazz Master
David Baker who is also on the faculty of the
Summer Jazz Workshops, directed by Aebersold. "As the creator of the innovative
and groundbreaking Jamey Aebersold Jazz Play-A-Long recordings series, as the
longtime director of the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, as an
exceptional clinician and performer, and as the publisher of an extensive
catalogue of jazz materials, Jamey has revolutionized the way people practice,
teach, create, and perform their music. Jamey has carried his message that
'
anyone can improvise' and that 'creativity is part of the nature of
every person' throughout the world to great success, impacting
generations of both aspiring and established jazz performers and teachers."
ANTHONY
BRAXTON
Composer, Saxophonist, Clarinetist, Flutist, Pianist,
Educator
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Currently resides in Middletown,
Connecticut
Anthony Braxton's compositions almost defy categorization through his use of
the improvised and rhythmic nature of jazz but moving it in a more avant-garde
direction, such as in his Ghost Trance Music compositions.
Jason
Moran, jazz pianist, composer, and artistic advisor for jazz at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, noted, "Anthony Braxton's
expansive catalog has always been an inspiration. [He is] a beautiful artist in
every sense of the word: performer, composer, educator, co-conspirator. Braxton
is a supreme improviser and composer who searches with sounds."
RICHARD
DAVIS
Bassist, Educator
Born in Chicago, Illinois. Currently
resides in Madison, Wisconsin
One of the premier jazz bassists in history, Richard Davis is widely
recorded, not only in jazz settings but also in the pop, rock, and classical
genres. Bassist and composer
Linda Oh commented, "Richard
Davis, with his wide palette of skill sets, has been an inspiration for me and
many bassists. To me, he shows strength and versatility within his
musicianship—a versatility that seems to not compromise integrity and
individuality, something many bassists can only dream to achieve." In addition
to his prowess on bass, Davis is a noted educator, having been a professor at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1977.
KEITH
JARRETT
Pianist, Composer
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Currently resides in Oxford, New Jersey
Keith Jarrett's talent for playing both abstractly and lyrically, sometimes
during the same musical work, continues to astound and delight audiences around
the world. His ability to work in both the jazz and classical fields as
performer and composer demonstrate the breadth of his creativity. 2012 NEA Jazz
Master
Charlie Haden, who has performed and recorded alongside
Jarrett, commented, “Along with Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett is perhaps the most
influential pianist in the history of improvised music because of his mastery of
the instrument, his creativity and deep harmonic knowledge. His playing
transcends category.”
Full profiles of the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters are located on the NEA's
website.
Awards Ceremony and Concert
The NEA will again
partner with Jazz at Lincoln Center to produce an awards ceremony and concert in
honor of the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters, that will be webcast live on Monday, Monday,
January 13, 2014 on
arts.gov and
jalc.org/live. A
limited number of free tickets will be available for the public. More
information about the awards ceremony and concert and how to obtain tickets will
be released this fall.
Nominations for the 2015 NEA Jazz Masters
The NEA
is currently accepting nominations for the 2015 class of NEA Jazz Masters. The
deadline is
October 1, 2013. Fellowships are awarded to living
individuals on the basis of nominations from the public including the music
community. Nominees must demonstrate a significant contribution to the art form
through their publicly recognized and accessible body of work in the field of
jazz. Visit the NEA's
website for more
information and to submit a nomination.
About NEA Jazz Masters
Each year since 1982, the
Arts Endowment has conferred the NEA Jazz Masters Award to living legends who
have made major contributions to jazz. With this new class, 132 awards have been
given to great figures of jazz in America, including Count Basie, George Benson,
Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy
Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, John Levy, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach,
Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and the Marsalis
Family.
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. For the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters, the panel
considered 144 nominations.
In addition to
NEA Jazz
in the Schools, a partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center, the NEA's jazz
programs include NEA Jazz Masters Live, a series of performance and educational
engagements in selected communities, featuring NEA Jazz Masters; radio
programming featuring NEA Jazz Masters; and publications and reports. For more
information on the NEA Jazz Masters, visit
arts.gov.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress
in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has
awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and
innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its
work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal
agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works,
visit the NEA at
arts.gov.
About Jazz at Lincoln Center
The mission of Jazz
at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for Jazz
through performance, education and advocacy. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest artists
spanning genres and generations, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands
of performance, education, and broadcast events each season in its home in New
York City (Frederick P. Rose Hall, “The House of Swing”) and around the world,
for people of all ages. Jazz at Lincoln Center is led by Chairman Robert J.
Appel, Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, and Executive Director
Greg Scholl. Please visit us at
jalc.org
