Jazz Journalists Association Announces 2020 Jazz Heroes

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Each year, The Jazz Journalist Association—a nonprofit that supports mediamakers in jazz—offers up a list of notable advocates of the genre who have worked to better their local scenes. This year’s honorees, which were announced Saturday, are below.

Ann Arbor, Michigan: Deanna Relyea

Atlanta: Gwen Redding

Baltimore: Sean Jones

Bay Area, California: Richard Hadlock

Birmingham: Leah Tucker

Boston: Ran Blake

Brooklyn, New York: Matthew Garrison & Fortuna Sung

Capital Region, New York: Susan Cohen Brink

Charlotte, North Carolina: Lonnie & Ocie Davis

Chicago: Harriet Choice

Cleveland: Terri Pontremoli

Denver, Colorado: Norman Provizer

Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Dr. Ronald B. Weber

Hartford, Connecticut: Ed Krech

Indianapolis: Albert Coleman

Los Angeles: Billy Mitchell

Minneapolis: Patty Peterson

New York: Roberta Alloway

Philadelphia: Anthony Tidd

Portland, Oregon: Ron Steen

Seattle: Jay Thomas

St. Louis: Gene Dobbs Bradford

Tallahassee, Florida: Jan & Mark Pudlow

Washington, DC: Sunny Sumter

JJA’s full announcement can be read here. DB



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    “I treat every day like it’s Thanksgiving,” said Roy Haynes.

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    “Watching people like Max Roach or Elvin Jones and seeing how they utilize the whole drum kit in a very rhythmic and melodic way and how they stretched time — that was a huge inspiration to me,” Hussain said in DownBeat.

  • ART7087_Mike_Stern_by_Sandrine_Lee_72dpi_RGB_PR8391_copy.jpg

    “I love doing ballads,” Mike Stern says. “It’s just a part of me, some part of emotionally how I feel sometimes.”

  • Billy_Cobham_and_MJ_by_Alfie_Jackson_copy_2.jpg

    Jazz journalist Michael Jackson, left, dispenses a live Blindfold Test to drum master Billy Cobham.

  • KennedyCenter.jpg

    Queen Latifah extols Harlem and the Apollo Theater at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.


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