{"id":122,"date":"2008-09-05T10:18:31","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T14:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/2008\/09\/who_decides_whos_a_jazz_master\/"},"modified":"2011-04-28T16:34:23","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T20:34:23","slug":"who_decides_whos_a_jazz_master","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2008\/09\/who_decides_whos_a_jazz_master.html","title":{"rendered":"Who decides who&#8217;s an NEA Jazz Master"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nea.gov\/\">National Endowment of the Arts<\/a> panel determining recipients of the annual Jazz Masters Fellowships is a small one. In the interest of transparency, the NEA has supplied the names of panelists who chose the class of &#8217;09. It comprises five previously named Fellows, one &#8220;layperson,&#8221; one independent record producer, and two longtime jazz adminstrator-activists (who both happen to be honorees of the Jazz Journalists Association&#8217;s &#8220;A Team&#8221;).<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Of course, if John McCain becomes president, it&#8217;s all moot (as Lee Rosenbaum <a href=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/culturegrrl\/2008\/09\/desperately_seeking_john_mccai.html\">reports<\/a>, the GOP has no arts policy in its platform, and I remember writing to McCain during the 1980s objecting to his desire to de-fund the NEA). He&#8217;s clearly no jazz candidate &#8212; whereas <a href=\"http:\/\/www.freep.com\/apps\/pbcs.dll\/article?AID=\/20080828\/NEWS15\/80828050\/\">Barack Obama<\/a> spoke at the site of the Detroit Jazz Festival, on Labor Day, and San Francisco musicians are lining up behind him with a <a href=\"http:\/\/my.barackobama.com\/page\/event\/detail\/fundraising\/gpg5cq\">fundraising jam<\/a> in San Francisco, October 13.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>But that&#8217;s another posting: back to the NEA panelists &#8211;\u00c2\u00a0<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Those charged in January 2008 with selecting a handful of 2009 Jazz Masters (who receive $25,000 honoraria and multiple opportunities for public appearances) from 155 nominations submitted this year by the U.S. public were:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Toshiko Akiyoshi,\u00c2\u00a0NEA Jazz Master, pianist, bandleader, composer-arranger,\u00c2\u00a0NYC<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">William Barke (Layperson),\u00c2\u00a0CEO Pearson Higher Education Arts &amp; Sciences;\u00c2\u00a0Chair, Pearson Canada;\u00c2\u00a0Cambridge, MA<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Locksley (Slide) Hampton,\u00c2\u00a0NEA Jazz Master,\u00c2\u00a0Composer-arranger, trombonist, educator,\u00c2\u00a0East Orange, NJ<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Ramsey Lewis,\u00c2\u00a0NEA Jazz Master, pianist, radio and television host,\u00c2\u00a0Chicago, IL<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Nancy Wilson,\u00c2\u00a0NEA Jazz Master, vocalist, radio and television host (and winner of the Jazz Journalists Association&#8217;s 2008 Willis connover-Marian McPartland Award for Excellence in Jazz Broadcasting), Pioneertown, CA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;\">Panelists selecting the 2009 recipient of the\u00c2\u00a0A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Toshiko Akiyoshi<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">William Barke (Layperson)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Michael Cuscuna (erroneously described as a &#8220;jazz musician&#8221;), founder and president of the\u00c2\u00a0Mosaic Records label, independent producer for Blue Note and other labels,\u00c2\u00a0Stamford, CT<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Gunther Schuller,\u00c2\u00a0NEA Jazz Master (previous recipient of Spellman Award), composer, author, scholar, educator,\u00c2\u00a0Newton Centre, MA<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Alfred B. Spellman, retired NEA deputy chair and jazz specialist, author, poet, critic, and lecturer, in 2006 named by the Jazz Journalists Association to its &#8220;A Team&#8221; of advocates, activists, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz,\u00c2\u00a0Washington, DC<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; \">Herb Wong, jazz journalist, critic, historian and record producer, former president of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Artistic Director of\u00c2\u00a0Jazz in the Meadow (Atherton, CA), in 2008 named\u00c2\u00a0by the Jazz Journalists Association to its &#8220;A Team,&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0Menlo Park, CA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;\">It&#8217;s a tricky task, choosing wisely among worthy nominees, and it&#8217;s hard to imagine the discussions regarding each nominee&#8217;s merits. However, there appears to be a current desire to balance the class with well-known and commercially successful artists (this year, George Benson) and lesser known but key soloists (Snooky Young, Lee Konitz), one musician who represents native origin from outside the U.S. (Belgian born Toots Thielemans, though he&#8217;s lived in the U.S. since &#8217;52), and a rhythm section stalwart (Jimmy Cobb). \u00c2\u00a0See who has been named an NEA Jazz Master<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nea.gov\/national\/jazz\/jmCMS\/JMbyYear.php\"> since the program began<\/a> in 1982,\u00c2\u00a0There are categorical criteria, and there has always been an emphasis on jazz musicians who&#8217;ve made their reputations on a fairly wide basis &#8212; of predominantly local heroes, I see only one: New Orleans traditionalist Danny Barker (who was a significant mentor to Wynton Marsalis).\u00c2\u00a0But you can make your own nominations, toward the class of 2010,\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nea.gov\/national\/jazz\/Award.html\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.howardmandel.com\" target=\"blank\">howardmandel.com<\/a> <br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/JazzBeyondJazz\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe by Email or  RSS<\/a> <br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/archives.html\" target=\"_blank\"> All JBJ posts <\/a><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/w.sharethis.com\/widget\/?tabs=web%2Cpost%2Cemail&amp;charset=utf-8&amp;style=default&amp;publisher=6ed88875-2235-4b29-aaa3-60183b0bcbcc\"><\/script> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Endowment of the Arts panel determining recipients of the annual Jazz Masters Fellowships is a small one. In the interest of transparency, the NEA has supplied the names of panelists who chose the class of &#8217;09. It comprises five previously named Fellows, one &#8220;layperson,&#8221; one independent record producer, and two longtime jazz adminstrator-activists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[67,65,64,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"tag-barack-obama-jazz","8":"tag-jazz-masters","9":"tag-national-endowment-for-the-arts","10":"tag-panelists","11":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-1Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":762,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/who-should-the-next-nea-jazz-masters-be.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":0},"title":"Who should the next NEA Jazz Masters be?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Who should be the next NEA Jazz Masters? With last night's triumphant and deeply moving webcast of the NEA's 2012 Jazz Masters induction ceremonies came welcome news the annual fellowships for these major American artists will continue -- at least the financial awards of $25,000 per Master. More significant to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/2012-jazz-masters.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2247,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/06\/nea-supports-jazz-and-us-arts-nationwide.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":1},"title":"NEA supports jazz and US arts nationwide","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"June 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment of the Arts, arguably the most misunderstood and beleaguered doing-good office of the federal gov't (excluding the NEH, EPA, Consumer Financial Bureau, Civil Rights Division of the Justice Dept., and a few others) has issued its 2017 funding report, highlighting that its monies (monies from we US\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Anthony Braxton\"","block_context":{"text":"Anthony Braxton","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/anthony-braxton"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/mule-ride-epicenter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/mule-ride-epicenter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/mule-ride-epicenter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/01\/visionaries_photod_at_nea_jazz.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":2},"title":"Visionaries photo&#8217;d at NEA Jazz Masters concert","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Just in -- \u00c2\u00a0Muhal Richard Abrams conducting the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and Yusef Lateef on tenor sax with percussionist Adam Rudolph, fine performance photography by Frank Stewart from the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters concert. My post on the concert is here, and the images are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adam Rudolph and 2010 NEA Jazz Master Yusef Lateef perform during the Awards Ceremony & Concert. Frank Stewart.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/assets_c\/2010\/01\/Adam%20Rudolph%20and%202010%20NEA%20Jazz%20Master%20Yusef%20Lateef%20perform%20during%20the%20Awards%20Ceremony%20%26%20Concert.%20Frank%20Stewart-thumb-460x306-12563.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":293,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/02\/nea_jazz_masters_as_new_yorker.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":3},"title":"NEA Jazz Masters as New Yorkers","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Are all Jazz Masters in\/of NYC? Most, yes -- but can that last? My new City Arts column.\u00a0See photos that demonstrate the thesis. photo by Tom Pich:\u00a0back row, l to r: Rocco Landesman (NEA Chairman, NYC), Cedar Walton (NYC), Bobby Hutcherson, Bill Holman, Kenny Barron (NYC), Wayne Brown (NEA Director\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"NEA 2010 Jazz Masters Photo by Tom Pich.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/NEA%202010%20Jazz%20Masters%20Photo%20by%20Tom%20Pich-thumb-420x278-12894.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/02\/nea_wants_to_end_jazz_masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":4},"title":"NEA wants to end Jazz Masters program","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment of the Arts' FY-12 Appropriations Request has just been posted, and cuts $21 million to return to its 2008 funding level. Among program \"modifications\": the establishment of \"American Artists of the Year awards,\" which will \"remove specific reference to Jazz, Folk, and Opera\" and give discipline awards\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"American Artist of the Year Award\"","block_context":{"text":"American Artist of the Year Award","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/american-artist-of-the-year-award"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":414,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/07\/house-appropriations-committee-to-nea-keep-jazz-masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":122,"position":5},"title":"House Appropriations Committee to NEA: Keep Jazz Masters","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"July 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment for the Arts\u00c2\u00a0has been directed\u00c2\u00a0by the US House Appropriations Committee in its report to Interior\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0to continue the American Jazz Masters Fellowships\u00c2\u00a0and dump its\u00c2\u00a0proposed American Artists of the Year honors. The report also supports continuation of the NEA's National Heritage Fellowships program (but not its Opera Honors) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"images-1.jpeg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/assets_c\/2011\/07\/images-1-thumb-100x123-20235.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}