The three finalists in this year’s Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition were honored with a meet-and-greet with President Obama yesterday, just hours after wowing Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center audience with virtuoso performances.
According to a news article in Sign On San Diego by George Varga, also a longtime JazzTimes contributor, first place winner Kris Bowers, runner-up Joshua White and third-placer Emmet Cohen received text messages at 1 a.m. Tuesday inviting them to share a photo op with Obama later that morning. The article reported that a Secret Service agent accompanied the three young musicians and jazz legends Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath and Herbie Hancock to the meeting. Obama chatted briefly with San Diego’s White, Los Angeles’ Bowers and Miami’s Cohen.
White reported that Obama declared himself a fan of Monk’s music.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.
