JJA Jazz Awards 2020

2020 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (MelN) — Mon, 18 May 2020 21:47:00 +0000

2020 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Announced

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the winners of the 2020 JJA Jazz Awards, which celebrate excellence in music and music journalism in thirty-nine awards categories. Topping the list of Awards recipients are Carla Bley for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, Stanley Crouch for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism, Terri Lyne Carrington for Musician of the Year (2019), Lakecia Benjamin for Up and Coming Artist of the Year, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul by the Branford Marsalis Quartet as Record of the Year, Kurt Elling for Male Vocalist of the Year and Cécile McLorin Salvant for Female Vocalist of the Year.

See the complete nominee list, as well as the honor roll of all 2020 Winners.

This year, Jazz Awards winners will receive hand-signed scrolls certifying their honors.

2020 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees Announced

noreply@blogger.com (MelN) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 19:08:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the nominees for the 2020 JJA Jazz Awards, which celebrate excellence in music and music journalism in thirty-nine awards categories. Topping the list of nominees are Roscoe Mitchell, Charles Lloyd, Carla Bley, Eddit Palmieri, Chick Corea and Jimmy Cobb for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and Ben Ratliff, Larry Blumenfeld, Howard Reich, Stanley Crouch, and Dan Ouellette for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. Complete nominee list.

JJA Professional Journalist members are voting now for 2020 Jazz Awards winners, who will be announced online at JJAJazzAwards after May 1; most will receive their engraved statuettes publicly at their summer performances across the U.S.

2020 Jazz Heroes Announced

noreply@blogger.com (MelN) — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 19:19:00 +0000

In this troubling time, as the world fights a pandemic, the Jazz Journalists Association is proud to celebrate the hearts, souls and efforts of 27 "activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz" in 23 U.S. cities as the organization's 2020 Jazz Heroes. Heroes this year hail from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama, Boston to Atlanta, Portland, Oregon, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles to Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Charlotte to South Florida, and points in between. Public presentations to the Heroes of their engraved statuettes will be delayed until such gatherings are safe.

These Jazz Heroes are united by their devotions to put jazz into the public sphere, for all to enjoy. They are presenters, educators, journalists, broadcasters, non-profit administrators, public faces of grassroots organizations and in several cases active players who have developed, sustained and helped document America's native-born music in their local communities and beyond. View the complete list of honorees, with photo portraits and biographies, here.

The Jazz Journalists Association, a nonprofit professional organization of writers, photographers, videographers and broadcasters covering jazz, established its Jazz Heroes campaign in 2010, having since 2001 called the honorees members of the JJA "A Team." The JJA presents annual Jazz Awards for excellence in music and music journalism; nominees for 2020 Jazz Awards will be announced mid-April, with winners of those Awards revealed on or about May 1.

Entities collaborating on the 2020 Heroes campaign include Ars Nova (Philadelphia), the Birmingham Jazz Hall of Fame, B Sharps Jazz Club, Braithwaite and Katz Communications, the California Jazz Foundation, and Jazziz magazine. The JJA thanks them for their participation and support.

2020 JJA Jazz Awards Nominations Underway

noreply@blogger.com (MelN) — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 04:09:00 +0000

The 2020 JJA Jazz Awards season has begun: Professional Journalist members of the Jazz Journalists Association are now making nominations for 2020 awards in music/recording and jazz journalism. Nominations close March 29 and as soon as the finalist nominees are tabulated, members will vote for the 2020 winners, who will be announced in May.

Preparations are also being made to announce the 2020 Jazz Hero honorees.

2019 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Wed, 01 May 2019 17:37:00 +0000

Pianist Ahmad Jamal is celebrated for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism by the 2019 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards -- the organization’s 24th annual celebration of excellence in jazz and jazz journalism. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter has been voted Musician of the Year, bassist Linda May Han Oh is Up and Coming Musician of the Year and West Side Story Reimagined by Bobby Sanabria’s Multiverse Big Band is Record of the Year, among recipients of Awards in 39 categories of jazz achievement and documentation in calendar year 2018, all posted at JJAJazzAwards.org.

Among other honorees are John Szwed for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism; Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon by his widow Maxine Gordon; British photo-journalist Val Wilmer and Massachusetts-based broadcaster Tom Reney for career excellence, and Nate Chinen, editorial content director of WBGO and author of the nominated book Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century Writing in 2018. All of them -- as well as Jamal, Shorter (also Composer of the Year, and leader of the Mid-Sized Ensemble of the Year), Oh (also Bassist of the Year) and drummer/arranger Sanabria’s two-cd album of Leonard Bernstein’s score for West Side Story re-envisioned by multiple arrangers -- are celebrated as “winners” based on voted on by professional members of the JJA, an international non-profit organization of media-makers covering jazz.

Other Awards have been voted for John Coltrane’s Both Directions at Once: The Last Album, Historical Record of the Year, ECM records Label of the Year, and DownBeat magazine Print Periodical-Website of the Year. Further categories include individual instrumentalists, Album Art of the Year and Photo of the Year -- Adriana Mateo’s portrait of the late Roy Hargrove smoking a cigarette, seated at a piano in the Umbria Jazz Festival’s ornate Teatro Morlacchi.

This year’s physical Awards -- formerly engraved statuettes -- are being redesigned. Presentation of Awards for instrumentalists will be presented by JJA members to the winners at their performances throughout the summer. Plans for presentations of Awards to journalists will be forthcoming, and posted at www.JJANews.org as well as the JJA’s Facebook page

For further information about the 2019 JJA Jazz Awards or the Jazz Journalists Association, contact President@JazzJournalists.org. Membership information is available here.

2019 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 16:47:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the nominees for the 2019 JJA Jazz Awards, which celebrate excellence in music and music journalism in thirty-nine awards categories. Topping the list of nominees are Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal, Harold Mabern and Pharoah Sanders for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and Nate Chinen, Eugene Holley, Jr., Dan Ouellette, Ben Ratliff and John Szwed for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. Complete nominee list.

JJA Professional Journalist members are voting now for 2019 Jazz Awards winners, who will be announced online at JJAJazzAwards about May 1; most will receive their engraved statuettes publicly at their summer performances across the U.S.

2019 JJA Jazz Heroes Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 23:25:00 +0000

Twenty-two "activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz" in 20 U.S. cities were announced by the Jazz Journalists Association today as the organization's 2019 slate of Jazz Heroes. This year's Heroes, from Amherst, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California, Seattle to South Florida, are all presenters, educators, non-profit administrators, public faces of grassroots organizations and in several cases active players sustaining and developing America's native-born music in their local communities and beyond. View the complete list of honorees, with photo portraits and biographies, here.

The Jazz Journalists Association, a nonprofit professional organization of writers, photographers, videographers and broadcasters covering jazz, established its Jazz Heroes campaign in 2010, having since 2001 called the honorees members of the JJA "A Team." The JJA presents annual Jazz Awards for excellence in music and music journalism; nominees for 2019 Jazz Awards will be announced mid-April, with winners of those Awards revealed on or about May 1.

Entities collaborating on 2019 Jazz Heroes presentations include B Sharps Jazz Club, the Biamp PDX Jazz Festival and Jack London Revue, the Carr Center, the Hyde Park Jazz Society, the California Jazz Foundation, MCGJazz, JazzPolice.com and Westminster Presbyterian Church. North Coast Brewing Company is beverage sponsor of the JJA Jazz Heroes campaign.

2019 JJA Jazz Awards Nominations Underway

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 17:39:00 +0000

The 2019 JJA Jazz Awards season has begun: Professional Journalist members of the Jazz Journalists Association are now making nominations for 2019 awards in music/recording and jazz journalism. Nominations close March 31 and as soon as the finalist nominees are tabulated, members will vote for the 2019 winners, who will be announced in May.

Preparations are also being made to announce the 2019 Jazz Hero honorees.

2018 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Named

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Tue, 08 May 2018 16:59:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the winners of the 22nd annual JJA Jazz Awards for music, recording, journalism and media.

Leading the 2018 honoree are saxophonist-composer Benny Golson, honored for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, and writer-researcher-historian Patricia Willard, the first woman to be celebrated for her Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism by the JJA. Other notable 2018 Jazz Awards winners include drummer Matt Wilson as Musician of the Year and for Record of the Year, Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg (Palmetto Records), and Fred Hersch, Pianist of the Year and author of Book of the Year About Jazz for his memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz (Crown Archetype). Complete 2018 winners list

Winners were chosen by the vote of JJA Professional Journalist members from among those previously nominated by those members.

Most musicians will receive their engraved statuettes in front of their audiences at U.S. performances during the summer. Awards for media-related work will be presented at the 2018 Jazz Awards party, a fundraiser for the non-profit JJA, open to the public, at the New School's Arnhold Hall, 55 W. 13th St., from 4 to 7 pm on June 12, 2018. The Leni Stern trio, singer Polly Gibbons and others to be announced will perform. Tickets are on sale now.

The 22rd annual JJA Jazz Awards again celebrates the creativity of women in jazz, with soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, clarinetist Anat Cohen, baritone saxophonist Claire Daly, guitarist Mary Halvorson, flutist Nicole Mitchell, bassist Linda May Han Oh, cellist Tomeka Reid, vocalists Cecile McLorin Salvant and Jazzmeia Horn and orchestra-leading composer-arranger Maria Schneider among the honorees. Jazz Awards also go to trumpeter Tom Harrell, saxophonists Chris Potter and Miguel Zenon, pianist Vijay Iyer, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, writer Nate Chinen, broadcaster Neil Tesser and photographer Michael Jackson, among others.

2018 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 16:49:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the nominees for the 2018 JJA Jazz Awards, which celebrate excellence in music and music journalism in thirty-nine awards categories. Topping the list are Benny Golson, Charles Lloyd and Ahmad Jamal for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and Will Friedwald, Ben Ratliff and Patricia Willard for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. Complete nominee list.

JJA Professional Journalist members are voting now for 2018 Jazz Awards winners, who will be announced online at JJAJazzAwards on May 7; most will receive their engraved statuettes publicly at their summer performances across the U.S. A Jazz Awards party has been scheduled for June 12, 2018, to be held at Arnold Hall of the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, space generously provided by the School of Jazz at The New School NYC. Mark your calendar now-- details coming soon.

Saxophonists Golson and Lloyd and pianist Jamal are revered for their compositions, improvisations and ensemble leadership as well as their instrumental works. Friedwald, an author and widely published journalist, is best known as an expert in American popular song; Ratliff, also an author, was jazz and pop critic for the New York Times for 20 years and continues freelancing articles; Willard, Duke Ellington’s editorial hand for 25 years, started publishing articles and liner notes in 1950 and has consulted with government agencies as well as serving as an oral historian.

Also notable about the JJA’s 2018 finalists ballot: Women are receiving increased acknowledgement for their contributions to jazz, as all three nominees for “Up and Coming Musician of the Year” are women, and Patricia Willard is the first ever woman to be nominated for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism.

The Jazz Journalists Association is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit association with an international membership of professional writers, broadcasters photographers, videographers and online content creators, plus their supporters.

2018 JJA Jazz Heroes named

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 18:35:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the 2018 "class" of JJA Jazz Heroes, 22 individuals in twenty locales around the U.S. who are being honored for their often unrecognized behind-the-scenes work in keeping jazz alive and thriving in their communities. Jazz Heroes are selected each year by community members in consultation with the JJA; the award recognizes the many kinds of non-musical contributions that are needed to keep the music going and bringing in new audiences. List of 2018 Jazz Heroes and more about their contributions

2018 JJA Jazz Awards Nominations Begin

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 18:31:00 +0000

Nomination ballots for the 23rd Annual Jazz Journalists Association Awards are in the "mail" and Professional Journalist members of the JJA will soon be posting their picks for 2018 awards in 39 categories of jazz music, recording, media and journalism.

Those who are nominated by the most members in each category will become finalists. The finalists ballot will be posted for members' voting and viewing by the general public in mid-April. Awards winners will be announced online at the JJA Jazz Awards site on Tuesday, May 1.

Local jazz communities have already made their nominations for 2018 Jazz Heroes, Advocates, altruists, activists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant local impact. Jazz Hero honorees will be announced in early April.

2017 JJA Jazz Awards Banquet Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 23:04:00 +0000

Photos by Janis Wilkins of the Jazz Journalists Association's 2017 JJA Jazz Awards Banquet, held June 6, 2017 at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, New York City.

JJA Jazz Awards Banquet June 6 NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Wed, 24 May 2017 15:57:00 +0000

Jazz Journalists Association members and friends will celebrate the 2017 JJA Jazz Awards winners and nominees on June 6 at a Chinese banquet at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, 18 E. Broadway in New York City. The public is cordially invited, but tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.

This year's awards for excellence in jazz journalism and selected music awards will be presented at the banquet. Musician of the Year Wadada Leo Smith, Female Singer of the Year René Marie, and Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism honoree Ted Gioia are among the award winners who will be in attendance, along with many other jazz world movers and shakers.

Special thanks to Awards sponsor Entertainment Cruise Productions, producer of the 2018 Jazz Cruise and 2018 Blue Note at Sea cruise, for their support of the banquet.

2017 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Named

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Mon, 15 May 2017 18:50:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced winners of its 21st annual Jazz Awards, celebrating 41 categories of excellence in music and music journalism. Pianists reign, with 78-year old McCoy Tyner celebrated for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, 13-year-old Joey Alexander hailed as Up and Coming Musician of the Year, Kenny Barron (73) named Pianist of the Year, the late Bill Evans’ Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest (Resonance Records) winning as Historical Recording of the Year, Robert Glasper acknowledged for his use of electronics, and Vijay Iyer cited for his role in Duo of the Year -- his duet partner being trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, recipient of the Musician of the Year Award.

In addition, two pianists won JJA awards for their work in media: Ted Gioia, recipient of the JJA’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism, who played jazz piano, taught and helped set up the jazz program at Stanford University, has composed piano works as well as written ten non-fiction books on jazz and served as editorial director of Jazz.com. Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus and diverse musical collaborations gets the Jazz Blog of the Year Award for Do The Math.

See all winners and finalist nominees for the 2017 Jazz Awards at JJAJazzAwards.org.

Awards for excellence in jazz journalism will be presented at a Chinese banquet at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, 18 E. Broadway, New York City, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on June 6, tickets available here. Jazz Awards for musical excellence will be presented at winners’ performances throughout the U.S., dates and places to be announced.

Winners of the Jazz Awards were determined by the two-stage voting of full JJA members -- writers, broadcasters, photographers, videographers and other media professionals engaged in disseminating news and views of jazz.

Besides pianists, women musicians are prominent in this year’s Awards. Composer-arranger Maria Schneider, guitarist Mary Halvorson, multi-reeds player and clarinet specialist Anat Cohen, baritone saxophonist Claire Daly, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, flutist Nicole Mitchell and violinist Regina Carter won their respective categories. René Marie won Female Singer of the Year (Gregory Porter won Male Singer of the Year).

Other Awards winners include Composer of the Year Ted Nash, Trumpeter of the Year Brian Lynch, who also won the Record of the Year Award for Madera Latino – A Latin Jazz Perspective on the Music of Woody Shaw (Hollistic MusicWorks), and Krin Gabbard whose Better Git It In Your Soul: An Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus (University of California Press) won Jazz Book of the Year.

For further information on the Jazz Awards or the Jazz Journalists Association, contact Howard Mandel, President@JazzJournalists.org

2017 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees announced

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 15:47:00 +0000

Professional Journalist members of the Jazz Journalists Association are voting now for winners of its 21st annual JJA Jazz Awards. Nominees have been named in 41 categories of excellence in music and music-related media. Jazz Awards winners will be announced online at jjajazzawards.org on Monday, May 15, and will receive their engraved statuettes throughout the summer at their performances across the U.S. JJA members, Awards winners and nominees, and their supporters will gather to celebrate the JJA Jazz Awards at a ticketed event in New York City in early June, details to be announced.

Henry Threadgill, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music, acquired the most nominations on the ballot as Jazz Musician of the Year, Composer of the Year, Arranger of the Year, Record of the Year (for Old Locks and Irregular Verbs from Pi Recordings), Multi-Reeds Player of the Year and Flutist of the Year. Threadgill won the 2016 Jazz Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz.

Saxophonist and bandleader Charles Lloyd and pianist and trio leader Fred Hersch tied for second-most nominations. Lloyd is cited for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, Jazz Musician of the Year, Mid-Sized Ensemble of the Year (Charles Lloyd and the Marvels) and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Hersch is cited for Musician of the Year, Record of the Year (Sunday Night at the Vanguard from Palmetto), Pianist of the Year and Duo-Trio of the Year.

Other nominees for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz are Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist and co-founder of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), tenor saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, pianist Ahmad Jamal and pianist McCoy Tyner. Other nominees for Record of the Year are A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM Records), by Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, who are nominated for Duo or Trio of the Year; Madera Latino - A Latin Jazz Perspective on the Music of Woody Shaw (Hollistic MusicWorks), by Brian Lynch, nominated as Trumpeter of the Year, and Time/Life Songs for the Whales and Other Beings (Impulse!) by Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra (arranged by Carla Bley, nominated as Arranger of the Year).

This year the Up and Coming Musician of the Year category has only three nominees: pianist Joey Alexander, drummer Jerome Jennings, and trumpeter Adam O'Farrill. O'Farrill's father Arturo is a nominee for Arranger of the Year and Large Ensemble (his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra).

The JJA Jazz Awards are the only national honors for media creators and platforms featuring jazz. Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism finalists are Ben Ratliff, formerly of the New York Times, and an author; Will Friedwald, author and contributor to the Wall Street Journal among other publications; Ted Gioia, author, blogger and freelancer writer; Kevin Whitehead, author, freelance writer and critic on Fresh Air, and John Szwed, author, anthropologist and scholar, formerly at Yale and Columbia universities.

The Jazz Journalists Association is a non-profit professional organization of writers, photographers, broadcasters, videographers and new media practitioners.
Complete list of 2017 JJA Jazz Awards nominees.

2017 JJA Jazz Heroes named

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 04:00:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the 2017 "class" of JJA Jazz Heroes, 26 individuals in twenty locales around the U.S. who are being honored for their personal work in keeping jazz alive and thriving in their communities. Jazz Heroes are selected each year by community members in consultation with the JJA; the award recognizes the many kinds of non-musical contributions that are needed to keep the music going and bringing in new audiences. More on the 2017 honorees.

2017 JJA Jazz Awards Nominations Underway

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 00:19:00 +0000

The twenty-first JJA Jazz Awards season has begun: Professional journalist members of the Jazz Journalists Association are currently submitting nominations for the 2017 awards for jazz musicianship, recording and journalism and local communities have made their nominations for 2017 Jazz Heroes who have made exceptional contributions to jazz in those communities.

2017 Jazz Heroes will be announced here on ~~April 1~~ MON APRIL 3.
Nominees for 2017 Jazz Awards will be announced here on May 1
2017 Jazz Awards winners will be announced here on June 1.

The JJA is still seeking sponsors and supporters for the 2017 awards; for more information please email president@jazzjournalists.org.

VIDEO 2016 JJA Jazz Awards Party

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 22:37:00 +0000

Produced by Michal Shapiro with assistance from Brian Pace.

2016 JJA Jazz Awards party photos

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:18:00 +0000

Roll over photo for i.d.
Roll over photo and click arrow to see more photos.
MORE PARTY PHOTOS ADDED 6/24

2016 JJA Jazz Awards for Music Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Howard) — Sun, 15 May 2016 23:11:00 +0000

The winners of the 2016 JJA Jazz Awards in 32 categories of musical achievement have been The

announced, with Henry Threadgill -- this year's Pulitzer Prize for Music winner, and a Doris Duke Performing Artist -- hailed for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz. Composer-arranger-orchestra leader Maria Schneider has won five Awards, including Musician of the Year and Best Album of 2015 for Thompson Fields, and Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington has been named Up and Coming Artist of the Year.

Two takeaways from the 20th annual Jazz Awards, which polls JJA professional members in a

double-stage process: Women continue to have prominence as winners in instrumental categories -- and every winner had won in their category in year's past.

Winners of the Jazz Awards will receive engraved statuettes from JJA members at their performance across the U.S. this summer.Winners of Jazz Awards for Media -- the JJA honoring jazz journalists! -- will be announced at the JJA's public, ticketed Media Party at the Blue Note in New York City, on Wednesday June 15 from 3 pm to 5:30 pm.

Angelika Beener, blogger at Alternate Takes honored by the New York City Association of Black Journalists and Simon Rentner, producer at WBGO-FM, will host the Jazz Awards party, where Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale will be served. Music will be provided at the party by solo pianist John Beasley, singer René Marie and her trio, and drummer Herlin Riley's quintet. Click here for tickets.

2016 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz Journalists Association) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 16:50:00 +0000

Final round voting has begun for the winners of the Jazz Journalists Association's 2016 Jazz Awards. Finalist nominees in 41 categories of musicianship, recording and jazz journalism and media were announced today, April 22. Nominations were made by JJA members and finalist nominees were named on the basis of number of nominations received. Winners in the music and recording categories will be announced on the JJA Jazz Awards site on May 15. Winners of the media awards will be named at the June 15 JJA Awards party at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.
NOMINEES LIST

2016 Jazz Awards Party June 15 at Blue Note Jazz Club NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 15:23:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association's annual Jazz Awards party, celebrating the winners of the 2016 JJA awards for jazz musicianship and media, will be held June 15 at the world-renowned Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.

Winners of the 2016 awards for jazz media will be announced at the party and winners of music awards --to be announced soon at jjajazzawards.org-- will be honored along with New York City's 2016 Jazz Hero Rio Sakaira.

Music will be provided by Herlin Riley Quintet (presented by Mack Avenue Records), Rene Marie and her Trio (presented by Motema Music), and pianist John Beasley.

Attendees will enjoy Brother Thelonious Belgian Abbey Style Ale, compliments of Awards sponsor North Coast Brewing, along with complimentary wine and hors d'ouevres. Tickets are available online now.

2016 JJA Jazz Heroes Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 04:01:00 +0000

27 Jazz Heroes in 23 U.S. locales--Educators, Presenters, Philanthropists, Fans, Players and Recordings Producers--Hailed as 'Activists, Advocates, Altruists, Aiders and Abettors of Jazz'

New York City – More than two dozen "Jazz Heroes" -- activists of positive influence on their musical communities -- have been announced today by the Jazz Journalists Association, a non-profit organization of media professionals, in collaborations with grassroots groups and supporters in 23 U.S. communities.

Names, bios and portraits of all 2016 Jazz Heroes

The Jazz Heroes are what the JJA used to call its "A Team: Activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz." This year's heroes demonstrate the prominence of women and Americans of diverse ethnic backgrounds in support of jazz, the Congressionally designated "rare and valuable American national treasure."

Jazz Heroes receive engraved statuettes, presented by JJA members and colleagues at parties, mostly open without charge to the general public. Many receive official proclamations from governments in their locales. Naming the Jazz Heroes launches the 2016 edition of the JJA's annual campaign celebrating local music people and scenes during Jazz Appreciation Month (which culminates in International Jazz Day), and the 20th annual JJA Jazz Awards for excellence in music and media covering music.
Organizations collaborating on Jazz Hero events include A Place for Jazz (Albany), B Sharp's Jazz Café (Tallahassee), the Carr Center (Detroit), the California Jazz Foundation, Eastside Arts (SF Bay Area), Elastic Arts (Chicago), JazzBoston, the Outpost (Albuquerque), the Philadelphia Clef Club, Portland PDX Jazz Festival, the Western Jazz Presenters Network, Westminster Presbyterian Church (Washington DC).

The processes for other aspects of the JJA's spring Jazz Awards initiatives are also underway. Nominations for Jazz Awards for excellence in jazz music and journalism are currently being tabulated and will be announced in mid-April on this site. Winners of the Awards for musical achievement will be announced in early May –those Awards will be presented at the winning musicians' performances nationwide. Winners of categories for excellence in music journalism will be announced at the JJA's New York City Jazz Awards party, to be held Tuesday, June 15 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Manhattan, to be headlined by drummer Herlin Riley's band.

2016 JJA Jazz Awards Season Underway

noreply@blogger.com (Ozmotic Media) — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 19:16:00 +0000

The Jazz Journalists Association has begun the process of selecting the winners of its 2016 Jazz Awards for music and journalism as well as the 2016 Jazz Heroes, honored for "aiding and abetting jazz" in local communities.

The winners of the 20th annual JJA Jazz Awards for musicianship will be announced on this site in May, 2016 and the honorees will receive their awards at public events in their locale through the summer and fall of 2016. Winners in the journalism categories will be announced in June. Local Jazz Heroes will be announced here in April.