Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
Clockwise from top: Lorraine Gordon (Photo: Eric Ogden), Mose Allison (Photo: Michael Wilson), Eddie Palmieri and Lou Donaldson (Photo: Bob Lasky)
(Photo: )The National Endowment for the Arts announced the names of the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters, the nation’s highest honor in jazz, on July 18. The honorees are pianist Mose Allison, saxophonist Lou Donaldson, Village Vanguard jazz club owner Lorraine Gordon and pianist/bandleader Eddie Palmieri.
The four recipients will join a list of 124 NEA Jazz Masters who have been honored for their contributions to jazz. Previous recipients include Count Basie, Roy Eldridge, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. Each honoree will receive a one-time award of $25,000 and will be recognized during the annual NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony on Jan. 14, 2013. The NEA will once again partner with New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center to present the ceremony at its Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
“Each of the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters has made an indelible mark on jazz as we know it today,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “Mose Allison’s fusion of jazz and blues has created a new sound uniquely his own, influencing scores of musicians and songwriters after him. Lou Donaldson has been a major force not just as a musician but also as a scout for new talent for the Blue Note label. Eddie Palmieri successfully combines the sounds of his Puerto Rican heritage with the jazz music he grew up with as a first-generation American. And Lorraine Gordon continues to provide a haven for jazz musicians to present their art at the Village Vanguard. I look forward to celebrating their achievements and contributions to this important American art form.”
The audience at Dizzy’s for the Jan. 14 ceremony will be limited to the friends and family of the NEA Jazz Masters. The event will be webcast live at arts.gov and on the Jazz at Lincoln Center website. Sirius XM Satellite Radio will simulcast the ceremony.
The 2012 NEA Jazz Masters are saxophonist Von Freeman, vocalist Sheila Jordan, bassist Charlie Haden, trumpeter Jimmy Owens and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
For more information on the honorees, visit the NEA website.
—Hilary Brown
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
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