DIRECTOR OF BROADCAST • SUPERVISING PRODUCER OF BROADCAST
JAZZ MUSIC AWARDS
The Jazz Music Awards is a two-hour award show celebrating the best in jazz. It is the first global, full-scale, music award show dedicated to jazz and the artists who create it. Hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater, the multiple Grammy® Award-winning artist, NEA Jazz Master and Tony® Award-winner; with Delroy Lindo, the widely acclaimed stage and screen actor, Peabody Award-winner and Tony Award nominee, the show is packed with heartfelt tributes to special honorees as well as stunning live performances by some of jazz music’s best performers.
The inaugural broadcast premiered on January 1, 2024 on PBS Passport’s on demand platform, as well as nine PBS member stations of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).
See the full show here:
Under the musical direction of multiple Grammy Award-winner and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington, the show features performances by Dianne Reeves, Kenny Garrett, Orrin Evans, Ledisi, Somi, Lizz Wright, Braxton Cook, Brandee Younger, Jazzmeia Horn, The Baylor Project, Lindsey Webster and show co-host Dee Dee Bridgewater. The all-star band assembled features keyboardist Ray Angry, trumpeter Milena Casado, alto saxophonist Brandon Cook, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist James Genus, drummer Nikki Glaspie, percussionist Gerson Lazo-Quiroga, electronics DJ/percussionist Kassa Overall, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Mark Whitfield, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.
The awards ceremony recognized winners in eight competitive categories and paid special tribute to jazz trailblazers through special awards. These included a Lifetime Achievement Award to the late Wayne Shorter; the Legend Award to the late McCoy Tyner; with Awards of Distinction going to Pulitzer Prize-winning Henry Threadgill (Jazz Composer Award), avant-garde trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire (Jazz Innovator Award), and renowned performer and academic Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds (Jazz Educator Award). Additionally, Clark Atlanta University Jazz Professor James H. Patterson was presented with the Jazz Impact Award. Special musical tributes included performances for the late Ramsey Lewis, Pharoah Sanders, Joey DeFrancesco, and Jaimie Branch.
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The Jazz Music Awards inaugural live celebration took place in Atlanta, Georgia on October 22, 2022 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.