Jazz legends of both the past and the present will be added to the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame at a Lincoln Center celebration next Tuesday, June 17th.
The 2008 recipients of the ASCAP Jazz Living Legend Award to have their names inscribed on the wall include bassist Ron Carter, composer-arranger and saxophonist Bill Holman and tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Three ASCAP inductees will be honored posthumously-trumpeter Bunny Berigan, drummer Art Blakey (pictured) and arranger/composer/pianist Tadd Dameron.
The invitation-only event will also honor jazz pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba as the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award. The innovation and technical precision displayed by Cuban-born Rubalcaba, whose last release was February’s Avatar, earned him the honor of the award.
Previous recipients of the Vanguard award for jazz include trombonist and educator Wycliffe Gordon, guitarist Ken Hatfield and composer/pianist/producer Matthew Shipp.
Presenters and performers at this year’s event include: Kenny Washington, Vanessa Rubin, Javon Jackson, Randy Sandke, Jay Leonhart, Jim Rotondi, Russell Malone and Stephen Scott.
The evening will include the celebration of recipients of the Sixth Annual ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards. The awards recognize excellence in composition by musicians under the age of 30.
Twenty-seven young musicians, ranging from age 14 to age 29, will be recognized for their compositions. The Gibson Foundation of Gibson Guitar Corp. has sponsored the national competition for the past three years.
The ASCAP Foundation, which organized the competition, was established in 1975. Created to encourage music education and talent development, the foundation offers workshops, grants, scholarships, awards and community outreach programs.
The charitable foundation is supported by members the ASCAP-The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. As the leading performing rights organization in the U.S., the ASCAP represents more than 8.5 million copyrighted musical compositions of every style and genre from more than 320,000 songwriters.
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