{"id":5376,"date":"2014-01-12T13:30:49","date_gmt":"2014-01-12T21:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=5376"},"modified":"2014-01-12T13:30:49","modified_gmt":"2014-01-12T21:30:49","slug":"the-new-nea-jazz-masters-jamey-aebersold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2014\/01\/the-new-nea-jazz-masters-jamey-aebersold\/","title":{"rendered":"The New NEA Jazz Masters: Jamey Aebersold"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a 1962 Indiana University master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s degree in saxophone, Jamey Aebersold might have carved out a career as a performer. He has never stopped playing, but a casual request set him on a course that led to success as the best-known third-party teacher in jazz. In 1966, a student at a workshop asked \"Aebersold\"<\/a>Aebersold, who is also a pianist, to record accompaniments that would help him practice. That recording and a companion book morphed into How to Play Jazz and Improvise, the first volume of 133 Aebersold play-along albums designed to help musicians at all levels teach themselves. Most of the CDs or downloads have a several standard songs or jazz originals, books of lead sheets and professional accompaniment on the CDs. Using them, a fledgling horn player can work out with, in this example<\/a>, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter and Grady Tate. That may be a higher-quality rhythm section than the student would find in his hometown and one that never complains about going over a tune ten times in a row. <\/p>\n

When the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters awards are presented tomorrow at Lincoln Center in New York, Aebersold will receive one for jazz advocacy. The National Endowment for the Arts says that the award goes to, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153an individual who has contributed significantly to the appreciation, knowledge, and advancement of the art form of jazz.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Previous winners in the category have included critics and authors Nat Hentoff and Dan Morgenstern, personal manager (and bassist) John Levy, producer Orrin Keepnews, recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder and club owner Lorraine Gordon. <\/p>\n

In addition to his play-along business, Aebersold has continued as a jazz educator, conducting summer workshop sessions at the University of Louisville. When he is teaching, he keeps his alto saxophone handy to illustrate points——and work in a little blowing time. The rhythm section is Steve Crews, piano; Tyrone Brown, bass; and Jonathon Higgins, drums. <\/p>\n

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