2007 NEA Jazz Masters Announced

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The 2007 National Endowment For The Arts Jazz Masters were announced on Friday at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C.

Class of 2007 jazz masters include bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Ramsey Lewis, vocalist Jimmy Scott, flutist Frank Wess and saxophonist Phil Woods. Archivist and writer Dan Morgenstern received the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.

“The jazz world has come to regard the NEA Jazz Masters Award as its equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes,” said NEA chair Dana Gioia. “We are immensely proud that the arts endowment can not only honor these American artists but also help them forge new connections with the public.”



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    Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.

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    “The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity,” Walia wrote in an online post upon his release from detention at an ICE facility.

  • Poncho.jpeg

    ​Percussionist Poncho Sanchez was among the artists scheduled to perform at the now-canceled inaugural LA Jazz Festival.

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    Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.

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    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.