Denmark has announced that flugelhorn player Enrico Rava (pictured left) will take home the 2002 JAZZPAR Prize. The prestigious award was created in 1990 to encourage the creation and appreciation of jazz. Former recipients include Muhal Richard Abrams, Lee Konitz, Roy Haynes, Geri Allen, Jim Hall, Chris Potter and most recently, Marilyn Mazur.
Rava, born in 1939, is known for playing styles from bop to avant-garde. In the past 40 years, Rava has played on more than 90 recordings, leading the band on 25. His past collaborators include guitarist John Abercrombie, classical composer Morton Feldman, and pianists Gil Evans, Carla Bley and Abdullah Ibrahim.
The JAZZPAR Prize is currently the world’s largest international jazz award. In addition to the cash prize of dkk 200,000 (approximately $25,000), Rava will take home a bronze statuette that could come in handy as a paperweight, bookend or doorstop some day when the cash is spent.
Next year Rava will participate in several JAZZPAR-associated activities including recording for CDs, a Gala Concert in Copenhagen, radio and television broadcasts and a prize concert tour.
For a recent live review of Rava at the Montreal Jazz Festival with Roy Hargrove, click here.
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