{"id":382,"date":"2011-02-15T15:55:32","date_gmt":"2011-02-15T20:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/2011\/02\/nea_wants_to_end_jazz_masters\/"},"modified":"2011-02-15T15:55:32","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T20:55:32","slug":"nea_wants_to_end_jazz_masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/02\/nea_wants_to_end_jazz_masters.html","title":{"rendered":"NEA wants to end Jazz Masters program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The National Endowment of the Arts&#8217; FY-12 Appropriations Request has just been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nea.gov\/about\/Budget\/NEA-FY12-Appropriations-Request.pdf\">posted<\/a>, and cuts $21 million to return to its 2008 funding level. Among program &#8220;modifications&#8221;: the establishment of &#8220;American Artists of the Year awards,&#8221; which will &#8220;remove specific reference to Jazz, Folk, and Opera&#8221; and give discipline awards annually in two categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Performing Arts: Dance\/Music\/Opera\/Musical Theater\/Theater&nbsp; <\/li>\n<li>Visual Arts: Design\/Media Arts\/Museums\/Visual Arts (including crafts)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This evidently means the end of the Jazz Masters Fellowships, which have been conferred upon 123 people since it began in 1982. Jazz Masters have also been documented by the Smithsonian Institution&#8217;s Oral History Project, and have received tour support for live performances.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\nThere&#8217;s no dollar amount affixed to these Awards &#8212; that information is<br \/>\nnot broken out as a separate line in the NEA&#8217;s overall budget. However, this modification is based on this statement in the budget request:&nbsp; <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Reductions necessary to accommodate a budget of $146.255 million will result in actions such as the following:<\/p>\n<p>Replacement of the large-scale honorific celebrations in Jazz, Opera, and Folk and Traditional Arts with a less expensive effort which celebrates all of the arts (consistent with our 2012 legislative request).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;Other details of the new plan:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>NEA American Artists of the Year honorific awards would be<br \/>\nmade not only to individuals who have devoted a lifetime to the<br \/>\nadvancement of artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation, but to<br \/>\nindividuals who at mid-career have made an extraordinary contribution to<br \/>\nthe arts. \n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I read this as: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To perform is to perform, never mind the process, stresses and circumstances performing artists live with in their separate disciplines require different sorts of energies and activities in pursuit of success. They will all be honored as one.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;(J)azz, folk and opera&#8221;<br \/>\nartists will compete not only with others in their<br \/>\ndisciplines, but with each other, with composers of contemporary<br \/>\nsymphonic or chamber work, and also with dancers, musical theater and<br \/>\nstraight theater performers for honors (in the case of the Jazz Masters,<br \/>\nthe Awards come with a $25,000 honorarium). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And oh yeah, you don&#8217;t have<br \/>\nto have been at it all your lifetime, mid-career prominence will due (a determination implicit in the honors bestowed as 2010 Jazz Masters Awards to not only jazz elder Ellis Marsalis but also his accomplished, mid-career sons). This expands the field of possible honorees in <i>all disciplines<\/i> significantly. Receiving an American Artist of the Year Award may become tantamount, odds-wise to winning the lottery.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s sure to be more interesting news in this NEA document. Any of it good? If so, please comment below. <\/p>\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&#8217; FY-12 Appropriations Request has just been posted, and cuts $21 million to return to its 2008 funding level. Among program &#8220;modifications&#8221;: the establishment of &#8220;American Artists of the Year awards,&#8221; which will &#8220;remove specific reference to Jazz, Folk, and Opera&#8221; and give discipline awards annually in two categories: Performing [&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":[1],"tags":[1167,1163,1165,1164,1166,64,1126],"class_list":{"0":"post-382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-american-artist-of-the-year-award","8":"tag-budget-request-fy-2012","9":"tag-ellis-marsalis","10":"tag-jazz-masters-awards","11":"tag-lottery","12":"tag-national-endowment-for-the-arts","13":"tag-nea","14":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-6a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":383,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/02\/nea_responds_awards_for_the_fu.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"position":0},"title":"NEA ends Jazz, Folk, Opera awards for &#8220;full range of American artists&#8221;","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"National Endowment for the Arts' FY-12 budget eliminates a 30-year-old Jazz Masters Awards program, and special recognition with National Heritage Fellowships and Opera honors, in favor of Artist of the Year Awards available for the entire spectrum of performing artists (all forms of music and theater as one). Here's the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2247,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/06\/nea-supports-jazz-and-us-arts-nationwide.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"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":762,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/who-should-the-next-nea-jazz-masters-be.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"position":2},"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":414,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/07\/house-appropriations-committee-to-nea-keep-jazz-masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"position":3},"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":[]},{"id":748,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/nea-jazz-masters-concert-webcast-program-to-continue.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"position":4},"title":"NEA Jazz Masters concert webcast, program to continue","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment of the Arts, formally inducting its 30th class of \u00c2\u00a0\"Jazz Masters\" with a concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center January 10 2012 that is being webcast live\u00c2\u00a0on\u00c2\u00a0WBGO Jazz 88.3FM\u00c2\u00a0 and\u00c2\u00a0SiriusXM Satellite Radio's Real Jazz Channel XM67, (starting at 7:30 pm ET) has announced that Jazz Masters will\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\/neajazzmasters-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":403,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/06\/new_nea_jazz_masters_a_classy.html","url_meta":{"origin":382,"position":5},"title":"New NEA Jazz Masters: A classy last class","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"June 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment for the Arts's final designated Jazz Masters are all worthy: drummer Jack DeJohnette,\u00a0saxophonist Von Freeman,\u00a0bassist Charlie Haden, singer Sheila Jordan and trumpeter-educator-organizer-gadfly Jimmy Owens have had long and profoundly influential if not broadly celebrated or financially rewarded creative careers. So much the worse that this 30 year\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382","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=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}