Hot House Magazine & Jazzmobile Present The 6th New York City Readers Jazz Awards
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 08, 2019
Hot House Magazine, in partnership with Jazzmobile is excited to announce the 6th New York City Readers Jazz Awards on Sunday, November 24th at New York City's famed Birdland Jazz Club, located at 315 West 44th Street.
This greatly anticipated event will celebrate the vitality of the jazz art form by allowing fans to vote for their favorite jazz artists in New York City! Voting is open through October. This exciting period culminates on November 24th, where the winners of each category will be officially announced.
Attendees will get the chance to witness rare musical collaborations between award winners and presentations from some of the most important names in the industry. Tickets for the event will begin at $55, and a portion of the net proceeds will be donated to Jazzmobile to support their mission to present high quality education and performance programs - an endeavor that also provides employment opportunities for our musicians and vocalists.
Originally founded as the Annual Fans Decision Jazz Awards, this star-studded ceremony has become a staple event on the New York City Jazz circuit and consistently sells out. At the previous ceremony, held at The Triad Theater, audiences were treated to performances by winning performers such as Jimmy Heath, Dan Levinson, Bria Skonberg, Rufus Reid, Dave Stryker, Stefon Harris, Harold Mabern and Roy Haynes. The Glenn Crytzer Orchestra was named the top group, and the Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein was the Honoree of the Year. The list of winners also included Veronica Swift, rising star-female; Solomon Hicks, rising star-male; Alexis Morrast, up-and-coming young artist; Champian Fulton, female vocalist.
Broadcast icon Mark Ruffin, Program Director of Real Jazz on SiriusXM, will be this year's Honoree. Mark Ruffin is a two-time Emmy-winning broadcaster who has been at the helm of SiriusXM's Real Jazz since 2007. Previously, Ruffin played jazz on the Chicago airwaves for over 25 years. He has authored over 600 articles on jazz. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Nobuko "Cobi" Narita. Narita is a producer, director and philanthropist whose tireless devotion to the jazz community has spanned over four decades. Among her many achievements, she produced the The New York Women's Jazz Festival and created the Jazz Center of New York (a performance space for jazz concerts, workshops and jam sessions), and Cobi's Place, which is a gathering place for jazz tap dancers. Presenters include Amy Niles, Executive Director of WBGO; Jim Eigo, President of Jazz Promo Services; Will Friedwald, revered jazz critic and journalist for the Wall Street Journal; Tracy Hyter-Suffern, Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Joseph Petrucelli, Executive Director of Jazz Foundation of America.
Readers from all over the world may vote for their favorite musician in a 19 different categories. The categories include the best player of alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, bass, clarinet, trumpet, drums, guitar, trombone, trumpet, piano, vibraphone and rare instrument. Other categories include female and male rising star, female and male vocalist, best group, and Jazz Artist of the Year. The full list of nominees can be found below.
The New York City Readers Jazz Awards enters a new era this year with a new name and a new partner. For the first time, Hot House Magazine is teaming up with Jazzmobile to honor the best and brightest the city has to offer at world-class venue, Birdland. "I have known Robin Bell-Stevens [Director of Jazzmobile] since I bought Hot House in 2002, and besides having respect for her professionalism, dedication to jazz and the way she runs one of the most important jazz organizations in New York, I have always felt a deeper connection with her," said Hot House publisher Gwen Kelley. Kelley went on to say that when founding partner Metropolitan Room closed last year and put the award ceremony at risk, Robin and Jazzmobile stepped in to save the event. Both prominent cultural institutions, Hot House Jazz Magazine and Jazzmobile are two of the longest running jazz-minded organizations in New York City.
Founded in 1964 by NEA Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor and philanthropist and arts administrator, Ms. Daphne Anstein, with NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath, Jazzmobile is the first U.S. not-for-profit arts and cultural organization created just for Jazz. Since its inception, the organization has been bringing high quality Jazz performances and education programs to over 4,000,000 people living or visiting New York City and audiences across the country and around the world. Jazzmobile's many workshops, masterclasses, lecture demonstrations and arts enrichment programs train the next generation of Jazz vocalists and musicians; while also exposing youth to this vibrant art form. Teaming up with Hot House Magazine to recognize and honor those that keep this artform vibrant and potent is a natural next step for the 55-year-old jazz bastion. "Partnering with Hot House Magazine is truly a thrill for Jazzmobile as we continue to grow our fan base and find new ways to carry forth our mission to present preserve promote and propagate Americas classical music, Jazz. This is especially true during our 55th Anniversary year! Thanks to Gwen Kelly, the NYC Readers Jazz Award program is becoming an important Jazz tradition, and we are honored to have been asked to join her," said Bell-Stevens.
Hot House Magazine has had its finger on the pulse of jazz since 1982. It is the oldest jazz magazine in New York City and the only regular publication dedicated to previewing upcoming jazz performances and events. Hot House is more than just a guide book; it a monthly must-read and could even be considered New York's jazz bible. The publication features a dynamic range of jazz artists in New York City from and up and coming performers to Grammy-winners and jazz legends. Hot House Jazz Magazine is free of charge and available throughout the New York metro area, thus keeping with it mission of making jazz accessible and available to all.
The two organizations see their seminal partnership in presenting the 6th NYC Readers Jazz Awards. This event aligns with the mission of both organizations, allying with the talented men and women who work tirelessly to share their passion with audiences, ensuring a vibrant future for this art form.
The nominations are:
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Pureum Jin
T.K. Blue
Nick Hempton
Brent Birckhead
Lakecia Benjamin
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Brian Landrus
Jason Marshall
Gary Smulyan
Lauren Sevian
Claire Daly
CLARINET
Oran Etkin
Paquito d'Rivera
Victor Goines
FEMALE RISING STAR
Pureum Jin
Lauren Lee
Roxy Coss
Michelle Lordi
FEMALE VOCALIST
Lynette Washington
Champian Fulton
Lauren Lee
Charenée Wade
Michelle Lordi
GROUP
Sounds of A&R
Iron City
The Motherland Connection
Michelle Lordi Quartet
The Diva Jazz Orchestra
BASS
Alex Blake
Drew Gress
Linda May Han Oh
Matthew Parrish
DRUMS/PERCUSSION
Billy Hart
Winard Harper
Alan Korzin
Antonio Sanchez
Fukushi Tainaka
Joe Farnsworth
Rudy Royston
Victor Jones
GUITAR
Peter Bernstein
Charlie Apicella
"King" Solomon Hicks
Charlie Sigler
Flavio Silva
Paul Bollenback
JAZZ ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Pureum Jin
Lynette Washington
Champian Fulton
Charlie Apicella
T.K. Blue
MALE RISING STAR
Benny Benack III
Brent Birckhead
Sullivan Fortner
Brian Landrus
Giveton Gelin
Joel Ross
Randall Haywood
MALE VOCALIST
Johnny O'Neal
Giacomo Gates
ORGAN
Akiko Tsuruga
Mike LeDonne
Radam Schwartz
Pat Bianchi
Brian Charette
Kyle Koehler
PIANO
Champian Fulton
Lauren Lee
Danny Mixon
RARE INSTRUMENTS
T.K. Blue (Kalimba)
Akua Dixon (Cello)
Bart Plateau (Flutes)
Brandee Younger (Harp)
Hendrik Meurkens (Harmonica)
Regina Carter (Violin)
Sara Caswell (Violin)
Zach Brock (Violin)
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Roxy Coss
Bill Saxton
Gene Ghee
T.K. Blue
TROMBONE
Corey Wallace
Wycliffe Gordon
TRUMPET
Giveton Gelin
Benny Benack III
Jon Erik Kellso
Tom Harrell
VIBES
Joel Ross
Joe Locke
Stefon Harris
Jay Hoggard
Videos