On Dec. 11, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced Frank Foster, Percy Heath and McCoy Tyner (pictured left) as the 2002 American Jazz Masters Fellowship recipients.
Each artist will receive a one-time fellowship of $20,000. All three Jazz Masters awards will be presented at an NEA-supported concert on Jan. 11 in Long Beach, Calif. during the 29th annual International Association of Jazz Educators conference.
The fellowships, which were created and first awarded in 1982, are given to distinguished jazz artists as part of the NEA’s ongoing effort to honor, assist, encourage, and present artists and forms of artistic expression that reflect the diversity of cultural traditions in America.