Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
In Memoriam: James Blood Ulmer, 1940–2026
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
The 2022 NEA Jazz Masters
(Photo: Courtesy of NEA)All four of this year’s NEA Jazz Masters honorees — Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison Jr., Billy Hart and Cassandra Wilson — participated in a lively virtual conversation that was made available online to the public this week.
In advance of the 2022 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert scheduled to take place this Thursday, March 31, at SFJAZZ Center’s Robert N. Miner Auditorium in San Francisco, listeners can log on to the NEA’s YouTube page to hear the Jazz Masters trade thoughts and memories about their lives and careers. The “Meet the NEA Jazz Masters” video discussion, available on demand, is moderated by Randall Kline, founder and executive artistic director of SFJAZZ.
The 2022 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert kicks off a year-long celebration of the fellowship program’s 40th anniversary. The event will feature performances by 2022 honorees Clarke, Hart and Harrison, as well as Jeremiah Collier, Joe Dyson, Ethan Iverson, Dan Kaufman, Salar Nader, Noriatsu Naraoka, Ruslan Sirota, Ben Street, Mark Turner and the SFJAZZ Collective. Held in collaboration with SFJAZZ, the concert is free and open to the public and will be made available through a live webcast and radio broadcasts. Vocalist Dianne Reeves, a 2018 NEA Jazz Master, will host the event.
In-person tickets are available through sfjazz.org. The live webcast will be aired at arts.gov, sfjazz.org and through a variety of social media pages, including DownBeat’s Facebook page, beginning at at 7:30 p.m. Pacific/10:30 p.m. Eastern on March 31. DB
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
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