Funding for the arts in The United States may be eliminated or drastically reduced if the Trump administration has its way, but an established arts showcase will be presented this evening, we hope not for the last time. The 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters will be honored at the John F. Kennedy Center Washington, DC. They are pictured above. Here are the NEA’s descriptions:
Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocalist, producer, broadcaster
Ira Gitler, author, editor, producer, educator
Dave Holland, bassist, cellist, composer, bandleader
Dick Hyman, keyboardist, composer, arranger
Dr. Lonnie Smith, organist, composer
All but  Gitler, who is ailing, will be present and are expected to speak. Gitler’s son Fitz will represent him. At 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, the NEA will stream the event live on its website. National Public Radio will carry it at NPR.org/Music
From the NEA announcement:
The concert will include performances by NEA Jazz Masters Paquito D’Rivera and Lee Konitz, as well as Bill Charlap, Theo Croker, Aaron Diehl, Robin Eubanks, James Genus, Donald Harrison, Booker T. Jones, Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Peter Martin, Mike Moreno, China Moses, Steve Nelson, Kassa Overall, Chris Potter, Dianne Reeves, Nate Smith, Dan Tepfer, and Matthew Whitaker.
For further information, see the NEA site. If Rifftides readers watch or listen to the presentation, please jot a note or two and let us know your impressions by way of the comment function below.