Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane Win Pulitzer Prizes

  I  

Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane received Pulitzer commendations on
April 16.

Coleman’s Sound Grammar recording was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music. The honor includes a $10,000 prize.

Coltrane received a “special citation,” for his “masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz,” according to the Pulitzer Prize Board.



  • Cassandra_Wilson_%40_2026_Mark_Sheldon-2_copy_2.jpg

    Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.

  • Pritesh_Walia_courtesy_Pritesh_Walia.jpg

    “The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity,” Walia wrote in an online post upon his release from detention at an ICE facility.

  • GB_Headshot_copy.jpg

    Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.

  • DB26_Joshua_Redman_Courtesy_Joshua_Redman.jpg

    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

  • Coltrane_John_by_Joe_Alper_copy.jpeg

    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”