Tuesday, June 3, 2008

National Endowment for the Arts Announces the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

NEA Partners with Jazz at Lincoln Center for NEA Jazz Masters
Awards Ceremony and Concert

The National Endowment for the Arts today announced the recipients of the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award-the nation's highest honor in this distinctly American music. The six recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant award, and will be publicly honored in an awards ceremony and concert on Friday, October 17, 2008.

The six 2009 NEA Jazz Masters are: George Benson (vocalist and solo instrumentalist, guitar), Jimmy Cobb (rhythm instrumentalist, drums), Lee Konitz (solo instrumentalist, saxophone), Toots Thielemans (solo instrumentalist, harmonica and guitar), and Snooky Young (solo instrumentalist, trumpet). Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder will receive the 2009 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.

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