2014

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

2014
2014

Annie Ross, Joe Wilder

Roy Haynes, Lou Donaldson (foreground), 

Branford and Delfeayo Marsalis (background)

Candido Camero

All photos by Michael G. Stewart

Scenes from the 

2013 Ceremony

David Baker, Jimmy Owens Mose Allison 

Ahmad Jamal,

Randy Weston
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THEARTS

2014

FELLOWS
2014
2014

CONTENTS

Introduction ..............................................1

A Brief History of the Program................ 2

Program Overview................................... 5

2014 NEA Jazz Masters.............................7

Jamey Aebersold..............................................8

Anthony Braxton..............................................9

Richard Davis...................................................10

Keith Jarrett........................................................11

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2014 ................13

NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony .....14

NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan 

performs at the 2013 awards 

ceremony and concert with the 

NEA Jazz Masters Trio (Kenny 

Barron, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb). 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
iv 2014
2014 1

WELCOME TO THE 2014 NEA Jazz Masters Awards 

Ceremony and Concert. This unique program is the 

outcome of a collaboration between the National 

Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Jazz at Lincoln 

Center (JALC) under the direction of Artistic and Managing Director 

(and NEA Jazz Master) Wynton Marsalis. The NEA Jazz Masters 

program is the nation’s highest recognition of jazz in America—and the 

2014 honorees are being recognized for their unique contributions to 

advance and celebrate this remarkable art form. 

We salute four individuals with the NEA Jazz Masters awards: 

saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, and composer, Anthony Braxton; 

bassist Richard Davis; pianist and composer Keith Jarrett; and 

recipient of the 2014 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz 

Advocacy, Jamey Aebersold. These four honorees will now join 132 

individuals who over the past 32 years have also been recognized with 

this special honor and will henceforth be known as NEA Jazz Masters. 

We are honored that the 2014 event will be co-hosted by Wynton 

Marsalis and journalist and CEO of Starfish Media Group Soledad 

O’Brien. They will be joined by an array of many of the giants in 

jazz along with new voices on the national scene. Under the rubric 

of a multi-generational, stylistically broad, and energetic range of 

artists, the awards will feature previously named NEA Jazz Masters of 

exceptional accomplishments and recent winners of the Thelonious 

Monk Competition, who represent a new generation of highly talented 

young jazz musicians!

Earlier in the day, Broadcast Music Industry (BMI) and its 

President and CEO Del Bryant hosted a special luncheon in honor 

of the 2014 class. The NEA is appreciative of the BMI sponsorship of 

the luncheon, to which all NEA Jazz Masters have been encouraged 

to attend over the past six years. Likewise, the NEA joins JALC in 

appreciation of the generosity of Robert Appel and Lisa Schiff, 

chairman and chairman emeritus of JALC respectively, for hosting a 

pre-event dinner for tonight’s honorees, previously named NEA Jazz 

Masters, and special guests. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.

Tonight’s awards ceremony and concert will be webcast live by 

JALC (jalc.org) and the NEA (arts.gov) and will be archived for later 

viewing. In addition to the live audience in the Allen Room here at 

JALC, viewing parties are taking place in communities throughout the 

country in celebration of the NEA Jazz Masters. 

To learn more about jazz in America, we invite you to check 

the respective websites of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the National 

Endowment for the Arts. 

In the words of Jimmy Heath: “If you believe in democracy...you’ll 

love jazz!”

Keep the music alive!

Wayne S. Brown 

Director of Music and Opera

National Endowment for the Arts

NEA Music & Opera Director 

Wayne Brown at the luncheon 

celebration for the 2012 NEA Jazz 

Masters in New York City. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
2 2014

AMELDING OF AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN MUSIC and 

cultures, jazz was born in the United States, a new 

musical form that used rhythm, improvisation, and 

instruments in unique and exciting ways. Jazz came to 

prominence in the early 20th century on the dance floors of major 

cultural centers such as Kansas City and New York. With the advent 

of sound recording techniques, the increased availability of affordable 

gramophones, and the rise of radio as popular entertainment, jazz 

quickly conquered the country. By the 1930s and 1940s, jazz had 

become America’s dance music, selling albums and performance 

tickets at dizzying rates and sweeping millions of fans in foreign 

countries off their feet. 

By the 1950s, however, with the advent of rock and roll and the 

tilt in jazz toward bebop rather than the more popular swing, jazz 

began a decline in its popularity. It was still seen as an important and 

exciting art form, but by an increasingly smaller audience. Jazz was 

still being exported overseas, though, especially by Voice of America 

radio broadcasts and U.S. Department of State goodwill tours that 

featured such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and 

Dave Brubeck. 

By the 1960s, when the National Endowment for the Arts 

(NEA) was created by Congress, jazz album sales were down and 

jazz performances were becoming more difficult to find. Large 

dance orchestras disbanded for lack of work, and musicians found 

themselves in stiff competition for fewer and fewer gigs. The music, 

starting with bebop and into hard bop and free jazz, became 

more cerebral and less dance-oriented, focusing on freeing up 

improvisation and rhythm. It was moving to a new artistic level, 

and, if this high quality were to be maintained, it would need some 

assistance. 

NEA assistance to the jazz field began in 1969, with its first grant 

in jazz awarded to pianist/composer George Russell (who would later 

go on to receive an NEA Jazz Master award in 1990), allowing him to 

work on his groundbreaking book, Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal 

Organization, the first major academic work in jazz. Jazz funding 

went from $20,000 in 1970 to $1.5 million in 1980 to more than 

$2.5 million in 2013, supporting a wide range of activities, including 

jazz festivals and concert seasons, special projects such as Dr. Billy 

Taylor’s Jazzmobile in New York and the Thelonious Monk Institute 

of Jazz’s Jazz Sports program, educational jazz programming on 

National Public Radio, artists-in-schools programs, and research. 

While the NEA recognized and acted on the need for public 

funding for jazz, the pioneers of the field were rapidly aging, and 

many died without the appropriate recognition of their contribution 

to this great American art form. Louis Armstrong and Duke 

Ellington, two of the giants of jazz in terms of both musicianship and 

composition, both died in the early 1970s without the importance of 

 A Brief 

History 

of the 

Program
2014 3

their contributions being fully acknowledged and appreciated. 

In an effort to nationally recognize outstanding jazz musicians for 

their lifelong achievements and mastery of jazz, the Arts Endowment 

in 1982 created the American Jazz Masters Fellowships—now the NEA 

Jazz Masters Fellowships—given to musicians who have reached an 

exceptionally high standard of achievement in this very specialized 

art form. 

In addition to the recognition, the NEA included a monetary 

award of $20,000 for each fellowship. The rigors of making a 

living in the jazz field are well documented. Jazz is an art form to 

which the free market has not been kind. Despite their unparalleled 

contributions to American art, many jazz greats worked for years just 

barely scraping by. The monetary award often has provided a muchneeded infusion of income. 

That such recognition was long overdue is exemplified by 

Thelonious Sphere Monk, one of the great American composers and 

musicians. Monk was nominated for an NEA Jazz Master Fellowship 

in the first year of the program, but unfortunately passed away 

before the announcement was made (the fellowship is not awarded 

posthumously). The three who were chosen certainly lived up to the 

criteria of artistic excellence and significance to the art form: Roy 

Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sun Ra. The panel in that first year 

included stellar jazz musicians themselves, including some future 

NEA Jazz Masters: trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonists Frank 

Denzil Best, Al Casey, and NEA Jazz Master 

John Levy at the Pied Piper in New York 

City, circa 1946-48. 

Photo by William P. Gottlieb, part of the 

William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin 

Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress
4 2014

Foster, Chico Freeman, Jackie McLean, and Archie Shepp. In addition, 

legendary Riverside record company co-owner and producer Orrin 

Keepnews (now an NEA Jazz Master) was on the panel. 

From that auspicious beginning, the program has continued to 

grow and provide increased awareness of America’s rich jazz heritage. 

In 2004, a new award was created for those individuals who helped to 

advance the appreciation of jazz. In 2005, the award was designated 

the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy in honor 

of A.B. Spellman, a jazz writer, accomplished poet, innovative arts 

administrator, and former NEA deputy chairman, who has dedicated 

much of his life to bringing the joy and artistry of jazz to all Americans. 

Additionally, the amount of the fellowship was increased to $25,000.

In 2005, the NEA Jazz Masters initiative expanded to include 

several new programs in addition to the fellowships. A two-CD 

anthology of NEA Jazz Masters’ music was produced by Verve Music 

Group. NEA Jazz Masters on Tour, sponsored by Verizon, brought 

jazz musicians to all 50 states throughout 2005-07 for performances, 

community events, and educational programs. New broadcasting 

programming was developed, such as Jazz Moments radio shorts and 

podcast interviews with NEA Jazz Masters (both Jazz Moments and 

podcasts can be downloaded for free at the NEA site on iTunes U). 

The NEA has also supported the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History 

Program (go to www.smithsonianjazz.org and click on “Oral 

Histories”) to document the lives and careers of NEA Jazz Masters. In 

addition to transcriptions of the hours-long interviews, the website also 

includes audio clips that provide in the artists’ voices their unique view 

of everything from their early years to their first introduction to music 

to the working life of a jazz musician. 

Each passing year brings increased international recognition 

of the NEA Jazz Masters awards as the nation’s highest honor 

for outstanding musicianship in the field of jazz. The recipients of 

the NEA Jazz Masters award cover all aspects of the music: from 

boogie-woogie (Cleo Brown) to swing (Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Jay 

McShann); from bebop (Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke) to Dixieland 

(Danny Barker); from free jazz (Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor) to 

cool jazz (Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Ahmad Jamal); and everywhere in 

between. What ties all these styles together is a foundation in the 

blues, a reliance on group interplay, and unpredictable improvisation. 

Throughout the years, and in all the different styles, these musicians 

have demonstrated the talent, creativity, and dedication that make 

them NEA Jazz Masters. 

The award offers a solid platform for raising worldwide awareness 

of America’s rich jazz heritage by not only honoring those who have 

dedicated their lives to the music, but also by leading the way in 

efforts encouraging the preservation and nourishing of jazz as an 

important musical form for generations to come. 

2002 NEA Jazz Master McCoy Tyner 

(right) presents the award to Eddie 

Palmieri at the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters 

event in New York City. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

NEA Jazz Masters David Liebman (right) 

and Paquito D’Rivera trade clarinet solos 

during the 2013 awards ceremony and 

concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
2014 5

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS recognizes the 

importance of jazz as one of the great American art forms of the 20th 

century. As part of its efforts to honor those distinguished artists whose 

excellence, impact, and significant contributions in jazz have helped 

keep this important tradition and art form alive, the Arts Endowment 

annually awards NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, the highest honor that 

our nation bestows upon jazz musicians. Each fellowship award 

is $25,000.

The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is a lifetime achievement award. 

The criteria for the fellowships are musical excellence and significance 

of the nominees’ contributions to the art of jazz. The Arts Endowment 

honors a wide range of styles while making the awards. There is 

also a special award, the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master Award for 

Jazz Advocacy, which is given to an individual who has made major 

contributions to the appreciation, knowledge, and advancement of jazz. 

Fellowships are awarded to living artists on the basis of 

nominations from the general public and the jazz community. The 

recipients must be citizens or permanent residents of the United 

States. An individual may submit only one nomination each year, 

and nominations are made by submitting a one-page letter detailing 

the reasons that the nominated artist should receive an NEA Jazz 

Masters Fellowship. Nominations submitted to the Arts Endowment 

by the deadline are reviewed by an advisory panel of jazz experts 

and at least one knowledgeable layperson. Panel recommendations 

are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes 

recommendations to the chairman of the National Endowment for the 

Arts. Nominations remain active for five years, being reviewed annually 

during this period.

Information on the NEA Jazz Masters award is available on the 

NEA website: arts.gov.

Program 

Overview

NEA Jazz Masters Benny Golson and 

Frank Wess during a performance 

at the 2012 awards ceremony and 

concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
6 2014

2014 NEA Jazz Master Keith Jarrett (center) 

with Gary Peacock (left) and fellow NEA 

Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette (right) during a 

recording session. 

Photo by Sven Thielmann/ECM Records
2014 7

Jamey Aebe

Anthony Bra

Richard Dav

Keith Jarrett

NOTES:

Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz 

Masters awardees.

All recordings listed in Selected Discography are 

under the artist’s name unless otherwise noted.

Years listed under recordings in Selected 

Discography denote the years the recordings 

were made.

2014

FELLOWS

Jamey

Aebersold

Anthony 

Braxton

Richard 

Davis

Keith 

Jarrett
8 2014

Born July 21, 1939 in New Albany, IN 

T

HERE IS NOT A SECOND that goes by that a person is not 

practicing with a Jamey Aebersold Play-A-Long record,” 

Aebersold noted in a 2009 interview. These Play-A-Long 

recordings have made it possible for jazz players young and old to 

create an interactive jazz environment in a classroom, their living 

room, on a street corner, or in a subway station. With the production 

of his first Jazz “Play-A-Long” recording in 1967, a new form of jazz 

education began, one that allowed novice or professional students to 

practice improvisational skills alongside professionals and noted jazz 

musicians without a classroom or a teacher—one that made practicing 

fun. For close to 50 years, Aebersold has produced 133 volumes of 

jazz recordings and books, along with various supplemental items, 

carving out a new avenue for jazz education. 

In 1962, Aebersold graduated from Indiana University with a

master’s degree in saxophone, one of several instruments he plays (he 

also plays the piano, bass, and banjo). Aebersold’s inspiration to create 

the first Play-A-Long recording came in 1966 while assisting at a 

workshop in Connecticut. A student requested a recording of his piano 

accompaniment, with which he could then rehearse and improvise 

at home. That first volume, titled How to Play Jazz and Improvise, 

has since been translated into six languages and is sold all over the 

world. The Play-A-Longs feature such well-known musicians as Kenny 

Barron, Randy Brecker, Dave Brubeck, Ron Carter, David Liebman, 

Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Raney, and Cedar Walton.

Aebersold also is the director of the Summer Jazz Workshops—

held annually since 1977 at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, 

where he served on the faculty for many years—which for more 

than 40 years have provided intensive training in jazz improvisation 

for musicians at all levels. The Summer Jazz Workshops have been 

held in eight countries and feature an element of jazz education that 

Aebersold has trumpeted—the value of small group combos. These 

workshops attract people from more than 20 countries each year to 

the University of Louisville campus.

In 1989, Aebersold was inducted into the International Association

for Jazz Education Hall of Fame and in 2004 the Jazz Midwest Clinic 

honored him with the Medal of Honor in jazz education. Aebersold has 

taught at three colleges and universities in the Louisville, Kentucky, 

area, and in 1992 he received an honorary doctorate of music from 

Indiana University. He continues to teach, conduct jazz clinics around 

the country, and perform as leader of the Jamey Aebersold Quartet in 

addition to running Jamey Aebersold Jazz.

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Volume 105: Dave Brubeck: In Your Own 

Sweet Way, Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2004

Volume 108: Joe Henderson: Inner Urge, 

Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2004

Volume 111: J. J. Johnson: 13 Original Songs, 

Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2006

Volume 115: Ron Carter, 

Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2007

Volume 121: Phil Woods: 14 Originals, 

Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2008

Jamey

Aebersold

EDUCATOR 

SAXOPHONIST

PIANIST

BASSIST

BANJO PLAYER

A.B. 

Spellman 

NEA Jazz 

Masters 

Award 

for Jazz 

Advocacy

“

Photo by Judith Landry
2014 9

Born June 4, 1945 in Chicago, IL

MY MUSIC OCCUPIES A SPACE in between defined idioms.” 

So stated Anthony Braxton, succinctly capturing the 

nature of his compositions, as complex and enigmatic as 

the diagrams he creates for their titles. While he might not consider 

the music he currently makes as “jazz,” certainly the improvised and 

rhythmic nature of the music he began playing 50 or more years 

ago still influence him, and his performances on his In the Tradition 

recordings demonstrate his ability to play the standards beautifully. 

Braxton began playing music as a youth growing up in Chicago.

He then attended the Chicago School of Music from 1959-1963, and 

went on to Roosevelt University to study philosophy and composition. 

Braxton joined the U.S. Army in 1963 and played saxophone in an 

Army band; upon his discharge in 1966, he returned to Chicago where 

he joined the newly formed Association for the Advancement of 

Creative Musicians (AACM). In 1968, he recorded For Alto, a doublealbum of unaccompanied saxophone, which is considered a landmark 

jazz solo instrumental recording. 

In 1970, after a short-lived stint with Barry Altschul, Chick 

Corea, and Dave Holland in the avant-garde group Circle, Braxton 

began leading his own bands in New York City, recording in a variety 

of settings, from duos of saxophone and Moog synthesizer to full 

orchestras. His music was moving away from even traditional jazz 

avant-garde and moving toward its own idiosyncratic voice. In the 

1980s and 1990s, Braxton’s regular performing quartet included 

Marilyn Crispell, Mark Dresser, and Gerry Hemingway, although he 

continued to record and perform with a variety of musicians both in 

and out of the jazz genre. 

For the past 20 years, Braxton has been focusing on large-scale

musical projects, such as the Ghost Trance Music he began working 

on in the mid-1990s to create a “melody that doesn’t end” with 

performers determining what parts to play. His Falling River Music 

uses large, colorful drawings to direct the musicians, but again, lets 

the performers determine their own way through the compositions. 

Diamond Curtain Wall Music takes the Falling River Music further using 

interactive electronics. Braxton also released an increasing number of 

works for large orchestras and his Trillium operas cycles. 

He has taught at Mills College and currently is professor of music

at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, teaching music 

composition, music history, and improvisation. He also authored 

multiple volumes explaining his theories and pieces. In 2010, he 

revived his dormant nonprofit Tri-Centric Foundation (originally 

created in 1994) to support the dissemination of his work. Among 

his awards, he received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1994 and was 

honored with the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award for his lifetime 

achievements in jazz in 2013.

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

For Alto, Delmark, 1968

The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony 

Braxton, Mosaic, 1974-1980

The Complete Remastered 

Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note, 

Black Saint, 1978-1994

9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006, 

Firehouse 12, 2006

Trillium E, New Braxton House, 2010

SAXOPHONIST

CLARINETIST

FLAUTIST

 COMPOSER

EDUCATOR

AUTHOR

Anthony 

Braxton “

Photo by Michael Wilderman
10 2014

Born April 15, 1930 in Chicago, IL 

ONE OF THE PREMIER JAZZ BASSISTS in history, Richard 

Davis is widely recorded, not only in jazz settings but also in 

the pop, rock, and classical genres as well. In addition to his 

prowess on bass, Davis is a noted educator, having been a professor 

at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1977. 

Part of the Chicago generation of musicians that included Johnny 

Griffin and Clifford Jordan, Davis studied bass in high school under the 

direction of Walter Dyett. He then attended Chicago’s VanderCook 

College of Music while playing with both classical orchestras and jazz 

combos at night, including gigs with Ahmad Jamal and Sun Ra. 

In 1954, he moved to New York City commencing a now sixdecades-long performing and recording career. Davis toured with 

Sarah Vaughan from 1957–60, including a tour of Europe, and worked 

as a sideman on numerous recordings in the 1960s, but was in special 

demand by Jaki Byard, Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Andrew Hill, Elvin 

Jones, and Roland Kirk, with whom he cut several albums each. He 

was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra from 1966-72. 

Proficient in any style, Davis was in demand in pop and rock circles 

as well, playing on albums by Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and Van 

Morrison (on whose album Astral Weeks legendary rock critic Lester 

Bangs called Davis’ bass playing “in the realm of the miraculous.”). 

Davis was equally at home in the classical world, performing for some 

of the music’s finest conductors: Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, 

Gunther Schuller, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, and George 

Szell. He is still in demand as a performer, often touring internationally. 

A longtime educator, Davis’ students have included David Ephross, 

William Parker, and Hans Sturm, among others. In 1993, he created 

the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists, which annually 

assembles a team of master instructors/performers to work with 

emerging talent to expand “the horizon of the student in terms of 

how they perceive their own potential and that of the bass itself.” 

In 1998, Davis created the Retention Action Project (R.A.P.) on the 

UW-Madison Campus to discuss multicultural differences by bringing 

together university representatives and social change activists. 

Additionally, he founded the Madison Wisconsin Institutes for the 

Healing of Racism in 2000 to raise consciousness about and address 

the history and pathology of racism. 

Davis has received many honors and awards, including DownBeat 

magazine’s Critics Poll, which named Davis “Best Bassist” from 

1967–74. He also has received two honorary doctorate degrees; a 

Hilldale Award for distinguished teaching, research, and service from 

the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Wisconsin Governor’s Arts 

Award (2001); the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian 

Award, bestowed by the City of Madison, Wisconsin (2003); and the 

Spencer Tracy Award for Distinction in the Performing Arts, presented 

by the Wisconsin Historical Society. 

Born April 15, 1930 in Chicago, IL

Richard 

Davis

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch, 

Blue Note, 1964

Richard Davis/Elvin Jones: Heavy Sounds, 

Impulse!, 1967

The Philosophy of the Spiritual, 

Cobblestone, 1971

Bassist: Homage to Diversity, 

Palmetto Records, 2001

Blue Monk, King Japan, 2008

BASSIST

EDUCATOR

Photo by Michael Wilderman
2014 11

Born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, PA

KEITH JARRETT’S TALENT FOR PLAYING both abstractly 

and lyrically, sometimes during the same song, continues to 

astound and delight audiences around the world. His ability 

to work in both the jazz and classical fields as both performer and 

composer demonstrate the breadth of his creativity. A master of many 

instruments, Jarrett also plays harpsichord, clavichord, organ, soprano 

saxophone, and drums. However, during the last 20 years, he has 

performed and recorded mainly on the acoustic piano.

Jarrett began playing the piano at age three, and studied classical 

music throughout his youth. Moving to New York City in 1964 after 

a short time in Boston, Jarrett hooked up with Art Blakey’s Jazz 

Messengers, and then joined the Charles Lloyd Quartet from 1966-

68, becoming part of a stellar cast with Cecil McBee on bass and 

Jack DeJohnette on drums. Playing electric piano with Miles Davis’ 

fusion band in 1970-71, Jarrett then went on to lead his own group—

assembling a dynamic quartet with Charlie Haden on bass, Paul 

Motian on drums, and Dewey Redman on saxophone—which released 

13 albums together. 

In 1971, Jarrett began a relationship with the record label ECM that 

continues to this day, producing more than 60 recordings ranging 

in diversity from solo piano to full orchestras. Perhaps Jarrett’s best 

known work is 1975’s The Köln Concert, a meditative, lyrical solo piano 

performance that captivated audiences, making it the bestselling solo 

piano recording in history. ECM celebrated the artist’s four decades 

with the label with its 2011 release Rio, an hour-and-a-half solo piano 

performance demonstrating Jarrett’s continuing exploration of new 

musical directions. 

In 1983, Jarrett invited bassist Gary Peacock and DeJohnette to 

record an album of jazz standards. The session ended up producing 

three albums and marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration that 

has lasted 30 years; the trio will celebrate the anniversary with a 2013 

world tour that includes Japan, Korea, Europe, and the U.S.

Jarrett has released numerous classical recordings as well, 

including Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes 

and Fugues, Op. 87, Handel’s Suites for Keyboard, and two volumes of 

Mozart Piano Concertos. 

Jarrett’s numerous honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, 

the Prix du President de la Republique and Grand Prix du Disque 

awards from the Academie Charles Cros (France), seven Deutscher 

Schallplattenpreis awards (Germany), and two of the world’s most 

prestigious music awards: the Polar Music Prize (Sweden) and the 

Leonie Sonning Prize (Denmark). In 2008, he was inducted into the 

DownBeat Hall of Fame, and in 2010, his recording The Köln 

Concert was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a select list of 

recordings of lasting quality and historical significance that are at 

least 25 years old. 

Keith 

Jarrett

PIANIST

COMPOSER

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Treasure Island, Impulse!, 1974

The Köln Concert, ECM, 1975

Bridge of Light, ECM, 1993

Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden, 

Jasmine, ECM, 2007

Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette, 

Somewhere, ECM, 2009

Photo by Richard Termini
12 2014

2013 NEA Jazz Master Lou Donaldson 

(right) performs during the awards 

ceremony and concert with the NEA

 Jazz Masters Trio (Kenny Barron, 

Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb). 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
2014 13

1982

Roy Eldridge*

Dizzy Gillespie*

Sun Ra*

1983

Count Basie*

Kenny Clarke*

Sonny Rollins

1984

Ornette Coleman

Miles Davis*

Max Roach*

1985

Gil Evans*

Ella Fitzgerald*

Jo Jones*

1986

Benny Carter*

Dexter Gordon*

Teddy Wilson*

1987

Cleo Brown*

Melba Liston*

Jay McShann*

1988

Art Blakey*

Lionel Hampton*

Billy Taylor*

1989

Barry Harris

Hank Jones*

Sarah Vaughan*

1990

George Russell*

Cecil Taylor

Gerald Wilson

1991

Danny Barker*

Buck Clayton*

Andy Kirk*

Clark Terry

1992

Betty Carter*

Dorothy Donegan*

Sweets Edison*

1993

Jon Hendricks

Milt Hinton*

Joe Williams*

1994

Louie Bellson*

Ahmad Jamal

Carmen McRae*

1995

Ray Brown*

Roy Haynes

Horace Silver

1996

Tommy Flanagan*

Benny Golson

J.J. Johnson*

1997

Billy Higgins*

Milt Jackson*

Anita O’Day*

1998

Ron Carter

James Moody*

Wayne Shorter

1999

Dave Brubeck*

Art Farmer*

Joe Henderson*

2000

David Baker

Donald Byrd*

Marian McPartland*

2001

John Lewis*

Jackie McLean*

Randy Weston

2002

Frank Foster*

Percy Heath*

McCoy Tyner

2003

Jimmy Heath

Elvin Jones*

Abbey Lincoln*

2004

Jim Hall*

Chico Hamilton*

Herbie Hancock

Luther Henderson*

Nat Hentoff

Nancy Wilson

2005

Kenny Burrell

Paquito D’Rivera

Slide Hampton

Shirley Horn*

Jimmy Smith*

Artie Shaw*

George Wein

2006

Ray Barretto*

Tony Bennett

Bob Brookmeyer*

Chick Corea

Buddy DeFranco

Freddie Hubbard*

John Levy*

2007

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Curtis Fuller

Ramsey Lewis

Dan Morgenstern

Jimmy Scott

Frank Wess*

Phil Woods

2008

Candido Camero

Andrew Hill*

Quincy Jones

Tom McIntosh

Gunther Schuller

Joe Wilder

2009

George Benson

Jimmy Cobb

Lee Konitz

Toots Thielemans

Rudy Van Gelder

Snooky Young*

2010

Muhal Richard Abrams

George Avakian

Kenny Barron

Bill Holman

Bobby Hutcherson

Yusef Lateef*

Annie Ross

Cedar Walton*

2011

Orrin Keepnews 

Hubert Laws

David Liebman

Johnny Mandel

The Marsalis Family

2012

Jack DeJohnette

Von Freeman*

Charlie Haden

Sheila Jordan

Jimmy Owens

2013

Mose Allison

Lou Donaldson

Lorraine Gordon

Eddie Palmieri

2014

Jamey Aebersold

Anthony Braxton

Richard Davis

Keith Jarrett

1982-2014

* Deceased
14 2014

Hank Jones, Barry Harris, 

Billy Taylor 

Photo by Tom Pich

Awards 

Ceremony

NEA Jazz Masters events include a luncheon for 

all attending NEA Jazz Masters (sponsored by 

BMI), a group photo, portraits of the new class 

of honorees, and a special concert and awards 

ceremony. Here are a few candid moments from 

the last few years.

Chick Corea, Roy 

Haynes, Ron Carter

Photo by Tom Pich

Chico Hamilton 

Photo by Tom Pich

Annie Ross, 

George Avakian

Photo by Tom Pich

Benny Golson, Jimmy 

Heath, Percy Heath

Photo by Tom Pich

Randy Weston, 

Sheila Jordan

Photo by Michael G. Stewart 
15

Nancy Wilson, John Levy, 

Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis

Photo by Tom Pich

Frank Foster, Dan Morgenstern

Photo by Tom Pich

David Baker, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody

Photo by Tom Pich

Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, 

Slide Hampton, Paquito D’Rivera

Photo by Vance Jacobs 

Frank Wess, Gerald Wilson, 

Jon Hendricks 

Photo by Tom Pich

George Wein, Louis Bellson

Photo by Tom Pich

Quincy Jones, 

Tom McIntosh

Photo by Tom Pich

Ornette Coleman

Photo by Katja von Schuttenbach
16 2014

Credits

This publication is published by:

National Endowment for the Arts

Office of Public Affairs

Don Ball, Editor

The 2014 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and 

Concert is produced through collaboration with 

Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) in New York City. 

JALC advances a unique vision for the continued 

development of the art of jazz by producing a 

year-round schedule of performance, education, 

and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. For 

more information, go to jalc.org.

Special thanks to the great jazz photographer 

Lee Tanner, who passed away in 2013, for 

providing many images of NEA Jazz Masters 

over the last decade that have been used in 

our publications.

Designed by:

Fletcher Design, Inc./Washington, DC

January 2014

Voice/TYY: (202) 682-5496

For individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Individuals who do not use conventional print 

may contact the Arts Endowment’s Office for 

AccessAbility to obtain this publication in an 

alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532

National Endowment for the Arts

1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20506-0001

(202) 682-5400

Additional copies of this publication can be obtained 

for free by contacting the NEA website: arts.gov. 

This publication was printed on recycled paper.

COVER PHOTO: NEA Jazz Masters 

Jimmy Heath (saxophone), 

Kenny Barron (piano), Ron 

Carter (bass), and Jimmy Cobb 

(drums) perform at the 2013 

awards ceremony and concert 

at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New 

York City. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
2014

In Memoriam

Jim Hall

1930–2013

Photo by Lee Tanner

Photo by Lee Tanner

Chico Hamilton

1921–2013

Photo by Melisa Goh

Marian McPartland

1918–2013

Photo by Lee Tanner

Cedar Walton

1934–2013

Photo by Micahel Wilderman

Frank Wess

1922–2013

Photo by Lee Tanner

Donald Byrd

1932–2013

Photo by Michael Wilderman

Yusef Lateef

1920–2013
2014

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20506-0001

202.682.5400