More than two dozen "Jazz Heroes" -- activists of positive influence on their musical communities -- have been announced today by the Jazz Journalists Association, a non-profit organization of media professionals, in collaborations with grassroots groups and supporters in 23 U.S. communities.
Jazz Heroes join the JJA's "'A' Team" of activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz. This year's roster of heroes reiterates the prominence of women, the power of couples and partnerships, and the individualistic diversity of people who devote themselves to jazz, which Congress has designated a "rare and valuable American national treasure." The JJA's "Jazz Heroes" campaign runs throughout Jazz Appreciation Month - April -- culminating in International Jazz Day.
Among the 2016 Jazz Heroes are music presenters enlivening Albuquerque, Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, Fayetteville AR, New York City, Syracuse and
Washington D.C.; broadcasters beaming locally and on the web from Fort Bragg (CA), Miami and St. Louis; philanthropists providing a safety net, performance opportunities and generous financial aid; educators who've established and sustained community-based programs in Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, and musicians who've promoted activities beyond their own creative interests in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New
Orleans and Tallahassee. Active performers among the Heroes include
Geri Allen (Pittsburgh), Germaine P. Bazzle (New Orleans),
Leonard Brown and Yedidyah Syd Smart (Boston), Joe Gransden (Atlanta), Todd Marcus (Baltimore), Bradley-Parker Sparrow and Joanie Pallatto (Chicago), and Bobby Torres (Portland OR). See names, bios and portraits of all heroes at
www.jjajazzawards.org
Jazz Heroes receive engraved statuettes, presented by JJA members and colleagues at celebratory events, most of them open without charge to the general public. Many receive official proclamations from local officials and offices.
Organizations collaborating on Jazz Hero events include A Place for Jazz (Albany), B Sharp's Jazz Café (Tallahassee), the Carr Center (Detroit), the
California Jazz
Foundation (Los Angeles), Eastside Arts (SF Bay Area), Elastic Arts (Chicago), JazzBoston, the Outpost (Albuquerque), the Philadelphia Clef Club, Portland PDX Jazz Festival, the Western Jazz Presenters Network, Westminster Presbyterian
Church (Washington DC).
Sponsors of the Jazz Heroes initiative and Jazz Awards include the
Ella Fitzgerald Foundation, JazzAhead, Berklee
College of Music, the New School Jazz Program, Mack Avenue Records,
Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale, Motéma Records,
Resonance Records, Century Media Partners, Sunnyside Records, the Jazz
Foundation of America, the Jazz
Institute of Chicago, the Western Jazz Presenters Network, ECM, Monterey Jazz Festival, The Nash, The New York City Jazz Record, Mosaic Records, and Braithwaite and Katz.
The processes for other aspects of the JJA's spring Jazz Awards initiatives are underway. Nominations for Jazz Awards for excellence in jazz music and journalism are currently being tabulated and will be announced mid-April. Winners of the Awards for musical achievement will be announced in early May - those Awards will be presented at the winning musicians' performances nationwide. Winners of categories for excellence in music journalism will be announced at the JJA's New York City Jazz Awards party, to be held Tuesday, June 15 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Manhattan, to be headlined by drummer Herlin Riley's band. Ticket information will be posted at
www.JJAJazzAwards.com.
