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For release May 16, 2017
The Jazz Journalists Association has announced winners of its 21st annual Jazz Awards,
celebrating 41 categories of excellence in music and music journalism.
Pianists reign, with 78-year old McCoy Tyner celebrated for his Lifetime
Achievement in Jazz, 13-year-old Joey Alexander hailed as Up and Coming
Musician of the Year, Kenny Barron (73) named Pianist of the Year, the
late Bill Evans’ Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest
(Resonance Records) winning as Historical Recording of the Year, Robert
Glasper acknowledged for his use of electronics, and Vijay Iyer cited
for his role in Duo of the Year -- his duet partner being trumpeter
Wadada Leo Smith, recipient of the Musician of the Year Award.
In
addition, two pianists won JJA awards for their work in media: Ted
Gioia, recipient of the JJA’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz
Journalism, who played jazz piano, taught and helped set up the jazz
program at Stanford University, has composed piano works as well as
written ten non-fiction books on jazz and served as editorial director
of Jazz.com. Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus and diverse musical
collaborations gets the Jazz Blog of the Year Award for Do The Math .
See all winners and finalist nominees for the 2017 Jazz Awards at www.JJAJazzAwards.org .
Awards
for excellence in jazz journalism will be presented at a Chinese
banquet at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, 18 E. Broadway, New York City,
from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on June 6, tickets available here
. Jazz Awards for musical excellence will be presented at winners’
performances throughout the U.S., dates and places to be announced.
Winners
of the Jazz Awards were determined by the two-stage voting of full JJA
members -- writers, broadcasters, photographers, videographers and other
media professionals engaged in disseminating news and views of jazz.
Besides
pianists, women musicians are prominent in this year’s Awards.
Composer-arranger Maria Schneider, guitarist Mary Halvorson, multi-reeds
player and clarinet specialist Anat Cohen, baritone saxophonist Claire
Daly, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, flutist Nicole Mitchell and
violinist Regina Carter won their respective categories. René Marie won
Female Singer of the Year (Gregory Porter won Male Singer of the Year).
Other
Awards winners include Composer of the Year Ted Nash, Trumpeter of the
Year Brian Lynch, who also won the Record of the Year Award for Madera
Latino – A Latin Jazz Perspective on the Music of Woody Shaw (Hollistic
MusicWorks), and Krin Gabbard whose Better Git It In Your Soul: An
Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus (University of California
Press) won Jazz Book of the Year.
For further information on the Jazz Awards or the Jazz Journalists Association, contact Howard Mandel, President@JazzJournalists.org , or Jim Eigo, Jim@JazzPromoServices.com.
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