Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Winners of the 2008 Hans Koller Preis were announced last week in Vienna. The prize, an initiative to support jazz musicians, is sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture, the City of Vienna, Bank Austria/UniCredit Group the SKE-Fonds and the Austrian Music Office.
Drummer Han Bennink of the Netherlands was awarded the 2008 European Jazz Prize for his explorations with wood and wind instruments, as well as collaborations with other musicians and as part of the group Clusone 3. Additional awards included the Austrian State Prize for Improvised Music (Fritz Pauer, piano), Newcomer of the Year (Viola Falb, saxophone), CD of the Year (Martin Reiter, ALMA, material records), Sideman of the Year (Martin Spitzer, guitar) and the New York City Scholarship, awarded to saxophonists Barbara Paierl and Fabian Rucker.
Prizes will be awarded on Nov. 28 at Porgy & Bess in Vienna. A concert of the prize winners will take place on Nov. 29.
More info: hanskollerpreis.at
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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