04/14/10

Jazz Journalists Association Announces Nominations

Awards in over 40 categories to be given at event on June 14 at City Winery in NYC

By Lee Mergner

The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) announced the final nominations for its annual awards, presented in a broad range of categories covering the music as well as those who cover and present the music. The awards will be given out at a special gala event held at City Winery in New York City on the afternoon of June 14, 2010. The event will be emceed by Terrance McKnight of WQXR-FM.

Among the artists nominated for multiple awards are: Darcy James Argue, Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Maria Schneider. A new award this year will be given to “Blog of the Year.” JazzTimes is nominated in two categories: Website of the Year and Periodical of the Year. The organization also recognizes the contributions of jazz advocates and activists with its “A-Team Awards.”

The Jazz Journalists Association is a non-profit member organization of over 300 writers, photographers and broadcasters. The nominations were generated from a voting by 60 members. Voting for the awards is only open to members of the organization via online balloting.

In a press release received at JazzTimes, Howard Mandel, president of the JJA, said: "The finalists for 2010 Jazz Awards reflect the depth of talent and breadth of styles that jazz encompasses today. Highly creative octogenarians such as Roy Haynes, Tony Bennett, Ornette Coleman, Lee Konitz, Bill Holman, Frank Wess, Bucky Pizzarelli and producer George Wein are celebrated alongside new-generation musicians like Argue, Iyer, Lehman, composer John Hollenbeck, saxophonist Miguel Zenón, bassists Esperanza Spalding and Linda Oh, singer Gretchen Parlato, banjoist Béla Fleck, flutists Jamie Baum and Nicole Mitchell, clarinetist Evan Christopher, violinist Jenny Scheinman and producer Brice Rosenbloom. This suggests undiminished strength in an art form that's still less than 100 years old."

Here is a complete list of the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards Nominations:

1. Lifetime Achievement in Jazz
Muhal Richard Abrams
Jimmy Heath
James Moody
Paul Motian
Wayne Shorter
Randy Weston

2. Musician of the Year
Dave Douglas
Vijay Iyer
Joe Lovano
Sonny Rollins
Henry Threadgill

3. Composer of the Year
Darcy James Argue
John Hollenbeck
Vijay Iyer
Steve Lehman
Maria Schneider
Henry Threadgill

4. Up & Coming Artist of the Year
Darcy James Argue
Gerald Clayton
Darius Jones
Linda Oh
Esperanza Spalding

5. Events Producer of the Year
Todd Barkan, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jack Kleinsinger, Highlights in Jazz
Andre Menard, Montreal Jazz Festival
Brice Rosenbloom, boomBOOM Presents: Winter Jazz Fest, Brooklyn Masonic Temple, (le) Poisson Rouge
George Wein, New Festival Productions LLC: CareFusion Jazz Festival New York, CareFusion Jazz Festival Newport, Newport Folk Festival

6. Record of the Year (CDs issued between March 1, 2009 and February 28, 2010)
Infernal Machines, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, New Amsterdam Records
Historicity, Vijay Iyer Trio, ACT Music
Travail, Transformation and Flow, Steve Lehman Octet, Pi Recordings
Folk Art, Joe Lovano, Blue Note Records
This Brings Us To, Vol. 1, Henry Threadgill Zooid, Pi Recordings
Esta Plena, Miguel Zenón, Marsalis Music

7. Historical Recording, Boxed Set, or Single CD Reissue of the Year (Note: Condensed editions of previously issued boxed sets are ineligible)
The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946), Mosaic Records
Twelve Nights in Hollywood, Ella Fitzgerald, Verve Music Group
Without a Song: Live in Europe 1969, Freddie Hubbard, Blue Note Records
Pieces of Jade, Scott LaFaro, Resonance Records
Saga of the Outlaws, Charles Tyler, Nessa Records
The Columbia Studio Trio Sessions, Denny Zeitlin, Mosaic Records

8. DVD of the Year
21st Century Chase, Fred Anderson, Delmark Records
Extraordinary Life and Music of a Jazz Legend, Svend Asmussen Shanachie
Live in Berlin & Stockholm 1968, Count Basie & His Orchestra, Impro Jazz
Thelonious Monk: American Composer, Medici Arts
Anita O' Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer, AOD Productions/Elan Entertainment
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker, Medici Arts

9. Record Label of the Year
Blue Note Records
Clean Feed Records
ECM
Pi Recordings
Sunnyside Records

10. Female Singer of the Year
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Roberta Gambarini
Sheila Jordan
Gretchen Parlato
Cassandra Wilson

11. Male Singer of the Year
Tony Bennett
Andy Bey
Freddy Cole
Kurt Elling
Giacomo Gates
Bill Henderson

12. Player of Instruments Rare in Jazz
Edmar Castaneda, harp
Béla Fleck, banjo
Grégoire Maret, harmonica
Scott Robinson, unusual reeds and brass
Daniel Smith, bassoon

13. Large Ensemble of the Year
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Mingus Big Band
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

14. Arranger of the Year
Darcy James Argue
Carla Bley
John Hollenbeck
Bill Holman
Maria Schneider

15. Small Ensemble of the Year (<10 pieces)
Henry Threadgill Zooid
Joe Lovano Us Five
Mostly Other People Do the Killing
Vijay Iyer Trio
Wayne Shorter Quartet

16. Trumpeter of the Year
Terence Blanchard
Dave Douglas
Tom Harrell
Wynton Marsalis
Wadada Leo Smith

17. Trombonist of the Year
Steve Davis
Robin Eubanks
Wycliffe Gordon
Roswell Rudd
Steve Turre

18. Tenor Saxophonist of the Year
Fred Anderson
Joe Lovano
Tony Malaby
Branford Marsalis
Chris Potter
Sonny Rollins

19. Alto Saxophonist of the Year
Ornette Coleman
Lee Konitz
Steve Lehman
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Miguel Zenón

20. Flutist of the Year
Jamie Baum
Holly Hofmann
Nicole Mitchell
Lew Tabackin
Frank Wess

21. Baritone Saxophonist of the Year
Hamiet Bluiett
James Carter
Ronnie Cuber
Claire Daly
Gary Smulyan

22. Soprano Saxophonist of the Year
Jane Bunnett
Dave Liebman
Branford Marsalis
Evan Parker
Wayne Shorter
Steve Wilson

23. Clarinetist of the Year
Don Byron
Evan Christopher
Anat Cohen
Eddie Daniels
Ken Peplowski

24. Guitarist of the Year
Bill Frisell
Jim Hall
Lionel Loueke
Pat Metheny
Bucky Pizzarelli

25. Pianist of the Year
Kenny Barron
Vijay Iyer
Keith Jarrett
Jason Moran
Matthew Shipp

26. Organist of the Year
Joey DeFrancesco
Larry Goldings
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Gary Versace
Sam Yahel

27. Violinist of the Year
Regina Carter
Mark Feldman
Jenny Scheinman
Billy Bang
Mark O'Connor

28. Bassist of the Year (includes Acoustic & Electric)
Ron Carter
Charlie Haden
Dave Holland
Christian McBride
John Patitucci

29. Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year
Jason Adasiewicz
Gary Burton
Stefon Harris
Joe Locke
Steve Nelson

30. Percussionist of the Year
Cyro Baptista
Hamid Drake
Zakir Hussain
Kahil El'Zabar
Bobby Sanabria
Daniel Sadownick

31. Drummer of the Year
Brian Blade
Jack DeJohnette
Roy Haynes
Paul Motian
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Matt Wilson

32. Periodical of the Year
AllAboutJazz-New York
Cadence
Down Beat
JazzTimes
Signal To Noise

33. Website of the Year
AllAboutJazz.com
Jazz.com
JazzCorner.com
JazzTimes.com
PointOfDeparture.org

34. Blog of the Year
The Gig, Nate Chinen -- http://thegig.typepad.com

A Blog Supreme, Patrick Jarenwattananon -- http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme

Do The Math blog and webzine, Ethan Iverson, http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath

JazzWax, Marc Myers, http://www.jazzwax.com

Rifftides, Doug Ramsey, http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides

35. Best Book About Jazz
Jazz, Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux, W.W. Norton

I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath, Jimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren, Temple University Press

Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Robin D.G. Kelley, Free Press

The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957 - 1965, Sam Stephenson

Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, Terry Teachout, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

36. Best Liner Notes
The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946), by Dan Morgenstern
Classic Artie Shaw Bluebird and Victor Sessions, by John McDonough

37. Photo of the Year--Nominees for Photo of the Year will be announced and displayed after May 1 at www.JJAJazzAwards.com

38. The Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Review and Feature Writing (Print and/or Online)
David Adler: Leterland (http://blog.adlermusic.com); JazzTimes; Philadelphia Weekly; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Time Out New York; AllAboutJazz-New York

Nate Chinen: The New York Times; JazzTimes

Gary Giddins: JazzTimes, Vintage magazine, The Independent(UK)

Marc Myers, JazzWax.com

Doug Ramsey, www.ArtsJournal.com/Rifftides

Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

39. The Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting
Josh Jackson, Host of "The Checkout," "Live at the Village Vanguard," WBGO.org, Newark

Bobby Jackson, Music Director, WCPN, Ideastream, Solace.fm Cleveland

Gary Walker, Music Director, Host of "Morning Jazz," WBGO.org, Newark

Jim Wilke, Host, "Jazz After Hours" (Hatchcover Productions, Seattle, distributed by Public Radio International)

Linda Yohn, Music Director, weekday morning host, WEMU, Ypsilanti

40. The Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award for Photography
Alan Nahigian
Mitchell Seidel
Herb Snitzer

41. Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism
Stanley Crouch: Considering Genius: Writings on Jazz; The Artificial White Man: Essays on Authenticity; Kansas City Lighting: The Life and Times of Young Charlie Parker; Notes of a Hanging Judge: Essays and Reviews, 1979 - 1989; fiction; columnist, New York Daily News; Jazz Times, Village Voice.

Paul deBarros: Seattle Times, Down Beat, co-founder Earshot Jazz, Jackson Street After Hours.

Don Heckman: The International Review of Music(http://iromwordpress.com), Notes from the Left Coast(http://notesfromtheleftcoast.blogspot.com); the Los Angeles Times, Jazz Times; 1960s-'70s: The New York Times, Village Voice, Down Beat, Metronome, the Jazz Review.

Bill Milkowski: Jazz Times, Modern Drummer, Guitar Player, Bass Player, Pulse Guitar Club (Italy), Jazzthing (Germany), Jazziz, Tower Pulse!, Down Beat, Fi magazine, Good Times (Long Island), Cityside (Milwaukee); Rockers, Jazzbos and Visionaries, Jaco: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Jaco Pastoruis, Swing It! An Annotated History of Jive, radio: overnight dj, WWOZ ("Milkman's Matinee").

W. Royal Stokes: Growing Up With Jazz; Living the Jazz Life; The Jazz Scene; Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson; former editor, JJA Jazz Notes and festival reviewer, Jazzhouse.org; Washington Post, Jazz Times, Down Beat; radio host, "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say. . . ", "Since Minton's".

For more information about the Jazz Journalists Association and its awards event, go to the organization’s web site.