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…
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
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…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
