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…
BMI’s Senior Director of Jazz and Musical Theatre Patrick Cook (left) with Musical Director Andy Farber, prize winner Helen Sung and Assistant Musical Director Alan Ferber at the 33rd Annual BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Summer Showcase, held June 13 at Dizzy’s in New York.
(Photo: Ezekiel Jeremiah for BMI)BMI’s 33rd Annual Jazz Composers Workshop Summer Showcase, held June 13 at Dizzy’s Club in New York, featured the best new big band and jazz orchestra compositions created during the workshop’s 2021–’22 season. The evening was hosted by Musical Director Andy Farber and Assistant Musical Director Alan Ferber and judged by a panel of esteemed jazz musicians and composers including Michael Abene, Marcus Printup and Rufus Reid.
The BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra performed eight works, including “The Deep End” by Todd Anderson, “Vaqueiro” by Ann Belmont, “Water Lillies” by Patrick Cornelius, “The Goodtime Gardens” by Ethan Helm, “Summer’s Ending” by Mike Malone, “Tis Bottle” by Len Pierro and “Minor Feelings” by Rin Seo. After an evening of performances, Helen Sung’s “Jazz Portraits: II. Wayne Shorter” was chosen as the winning piece by the judges. In addition to receiving the prestigious Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, the BMI Foundation also awarded Sung the $3,000 Manny Albam commission — named in memory of the workshop’s late founder and longtime music director — to compose a new piece that will premiere at next year’s showcase.
The evening concluded with 2021 prize recipients Chuck Iwanusa and Tracy Yang debuting their commissioned compositions, “No Man’s Land” and “Sea Swell (Scene Taiwan II).”
For more information on this renowned workshop and its history, click here. DB
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.
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