Vocalist and guitarist George Benson was among the recipients named Tuesday for the National Endowment of the Arts' 2009 Jazz Masters Award.
Also chosen for the $25,000 award, to be presented in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, were drummer Jimmy Cobb, saxophonist Lee Konitz, trumpet player Snooky Young, harmonica and guitar player Toots Thielemans and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.
The National Endowment for the Arts announced the recipients of the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award -- the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American music. The six recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant award, and will be publicly honored in an awards ceremony and concert on Friday, October 17, 2008.
The six 2009 NEA Jazz Masters are: George Benson (vocalist and solo instrumentalist, guitar), Jimmy Cobb (rhythm instrumentalist, drums), Lee Konitz (solo instrumentalist, saxophone), Toots Thielemans (solo instrumentalist, harmonica and guitar), and Snooky Young (solo instrumentalist, trumpet). Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder will receive the 2009 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.
For the October presentation, the Arts Endowment will partner with Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The awards ceremony and concert at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a program dedicated to the honorees' works. Past collaborations between the NEA and Jazz at Lincoln Center include the NEA Jazz in the Schools curriculum -- available free of charge to high school teachers nationwide -- and the media announcement event for the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters class.
“Jazz is a vital part of our nation's history and cultural heritage," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, “and I am delighted to announce the artists of the class of 2009, whose bodies of work have had, and continue to have, a decisive and enduring impact on the development of this art form."
Each member of the 2009 class fulfilled the selection criteria of being a distinguished artist whose excellence, impact, and significant contributions have helped to keep the important tradition of jazz alive:
A winner of ten Grammy Awards, George Benson created the innovative practice of playing a florid guitar melody accompanied by an identical, scatted vocal line. An accomplished soloist and outstanding accompanist, jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb has worked with such renowned musicians as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughan. A pioneer of “cool jazz," saxophonist Lee Konitz was part of Miles Davis's famous nonet performances and recordings in the 1940s, before working with Lennie Tristano and Stan Kenton and eventually emerging as a highly acclaimed band leader. Toots Thielemans has been credited with bringing the harmonica to jazz. The mastery of his instrument is evident in his performances with Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Billy Joel, and Paquito D'Rivera.
Arguably the greatest recording engineer in jazz history, Rudy Van Gelder's crystal-clear recordings have defined the sound associated with the legendary Blue Note record label since the early 1950s. A master of the plunger mute, Snooky Young's distinctive sound made him the trumpeter of choice for the great jazz big band leaders Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Lionel Hampton, among others. He is currently a member of The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
Each year since 1982, the Arts Endowment has conferred the NEA Jazz Masters Award on a handful of living legends who have made major contributions to jazz. With this new class, the award has been given to 106 great figures in American music.
Other NEA Jazz Masters include Count Basie, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Betty Carter, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Elvin Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Teddy Wilson.
Also chosen for the $25,000 award, to be presented in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, were drummer Jimmy Cobb, saxophonist Lee Konitz, trumpet player Snooky Young, harmonica and guitar player Toots Thielemans and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.
The National Endowment for the Arts announced the recipients of the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award -- the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American music. The six recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant award, and will be publicly honored in an awards ceremony and concert on Friday, October 17, 2008.
The six 2009 NEA Jazz Masters are: George Benson (vocalist and solo instrumentalist, guitar), Jimmy Cobb (rhythm instrumentalist, drums), Lee Konitz (solo instrumentalist, saxophone), Toots Thielemans (solo instrumentalist, harmonica and guitar), and Snooky Young (solo instrumentalist, trumpet). Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder will receive the 2009 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.
For the October presentation, the Arts Endowment will partner with Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The awards ceremony and concert at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in a program dedicated to the honorees' works. Past collaborations between the NEA and Jazz at Lincoln Center include the NEA Jazz in the Schools curriculum -- available free of charge to high school teachers nationwide -- and the media announcement event for the 2008 NEA Jazz Masters class.
“Jazz is a vital part of our nation's history and cultural heritage," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, “and I am delighted to announce the artists of the class of 2009, whose bodies of work have had, and continue to have, a decisive and enduring impact on the development of this art form."
Each member of the 2009 class fulfilled the selection criteria of being a distinguished artist whose excellence, impact, and significant contributions have helped to keep the important tradition of jazz alive:
A winner of ten Grammy Awards, George Benson created the innovative practice of playing a florid guitar melody accompanied by an identical, scatted vocal line. An accomplished soloist and outstanding accompanist, jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb has worked with such renowned musicians as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughan. A pioneer of “cool jazz," saxophonist Lee Konitz was part of Miles Davis's famous nonet performances and recordings in the 1940s, before working with Lennie Tristano and Stan Kenton and eventually emerging as a highly acclaimed band leader. Toots Thielemans has been credited with bringing the harmonica to jazz. The mastery of his instrument is evident in his performances with Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Billy Joel, and Paquito D'Rivera.
Arguably the greatest recording engineer in jazz history, Rudy Van Gelder's crystal-clear recordings have defined the sound associated with the legendary Blue Note record label since the early 1950s. A master of the plunger mute, Snooky Young's distinctive sound made him the trumpeter of choice for the great jazz big band leaders Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Lionel Hampton, among others. He is currently a member of The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
Each year since 1982, the Arts Endowment has conferred the NEA Jazz Masters Award on a handful of living legends who have made major contributions to jazz. With this new class, the award has been given to 106 great figures in American music.
Other NEA Jazz Masters include Count Basie, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Betty Carter, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Elvin Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Teddy Wilson.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
