Jazz master Charlie Haden | Photo: Steven A. Gunther
Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the 2012 recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Awards, which “recognize outstanding musicians for their lifetime achievements and significant contributions to the development and performance of jazz.”
On the 30th anniversary of nation’s highest honor in jazz, CalArts faculty member Charlie Haden has been named an awardee. Haden will receive $25,000 and be publicly honored at the annual awards ceremony and concert, produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
From the NEA media release:
Lyrical and expressive on the bass, Charlie Haden has embraced a variety of musical genres, ranging from jazz to country to world music. His work as an educator led to the creation of the Jazz Studies program at California Institute of the Arts in 1982 where he focuses on the spirituality of improvisation.
The four other recipients of the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters Award are:
- Jack DeJohnette, drummer, keyboardist, composer
- Von Freeman, saxophonist
- Sheila Jordan, vocalist, educator
- Jimmy Owens, educator, trumpeter, flugelhorn player, composer, arranger.
“Jazz is considered by many as one of America’s greatest cultural gifts to the world,” said Wayne S. Brown, NEA Director of Music and Opera. “These artists are being recognized for their extraordinary contribution to advancing the art form and for serving as mentors for a new generation of young aspiring jazz musicians.”
Below is a track, Lôro, from Haden‘s 2001 album, In Montreal: