2009 NEA Jazz Masters 1

National Endowment for the Arts

America’s Highest Honor in Jazz
2 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public 

agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the 

arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all 

Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. 

Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent 

agency of the federal government, the Endowment is 

the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing 

great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner 

cities, and military bases.
National Endowment for the Arts

America’s Highest Honor in Jazz

2009 Fellows
Credits

This publication is published by:

National Endowment for the Arts

Office of Communications

Victoria Hutter, Acting Director

Don Ball, Publications Manager/Editor

Designed by:

Fletcher Design Inc., Washington DC

October 2008

Cover Photo: NEA Jazz Masters (from left) Candido Camero, Joe 

Wilder, and Paquito D’Rivera perform during the finale of the 

2008 NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony and concert in Toronto, 

Canada. Photo by Tom Pich

The following reference texts were used in researching biographical 

information of the Jazz Masters:

All Music Guide to Jazz by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, 

and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Backbeat Books

American Musicians II by Whitney Balliett, Oxford University 

Press

Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira 

Gitler, Oxford University Press

Four Jazz Lives by A.B. Spellman, University of Michigan Press 

Jazz: The Rough Guide by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, and Brian 

Priestley, Rough Guides

Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 4th Edition by Richard Cook and 

Brian Morton, Penguin

Talking Jazz: An Oral History by Ben Sidran, Da Capo Press

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 Web site: www.arts.gov. 

 This publication was printed on recycled paper.
2009 NEA Jazz Masters iii

A Message from the Chairman

I

n 2003 the NEA made the historic decision to increase 

significantly its support for the great America art form of jazz. 

An ambitious new national initiative was created that eventually 

included touring, festivals, television, radio, recordings, and school 

programs. At the heart of this national initiative was the NEA Jazz 

Masters Fellowships, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. First created in 1982 as a 

lifetime achievement award, the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships were well respected in 

the jazz world but little know outside it. The plan was to heighten the recognition of 

this singular award to make it worthy of the great art and artists it honored.

Six years later, I am proud to report that the program has been enormously 

successful. It has brought jazz to millions of Americans in all 50 states—best of all, 

introducing the art to seven million students through the NEA Jazz in the Schools 

curriculum which the NEA developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center. 

Meanwhile hundreds of Jazz Moments radio features are broadcast daily on SIRIUS 

XM Radio, reaching millions of adult listeners many times a day. 

But most important, we honor the artists themselves through the NEA Jazz Masters 

award. By doubling the number of annual recipients, we also celebrate the breadth of 

talent in this distinctively American tradition. 

The NEA Jazz Masters constitute an artistic legion of honor. These living legends 

embody the best of our nation’s creative culture. As NEA chairman, it is hard for me to 

describe the extent of my pleasure and pride to see these master musicians recognized 

officially by their nation in their own lifetime.

The NEA’s investment in jazz has influenced other institutions. The United States 

Department of State, for example, recently bestowed its first individual Benjamin 

Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy to Dave Brubeck in honor of his legendary 

work in the Jazz Ambassadors program. This award reminds us that jazz musicians 

are more than just performers. They are cultural ambassadors, introducing America’s 

music to new audiences around the world.

We welcome the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters to their rightful place among the 

immortals of America’s hottest—and coolest—musical tradition.

Dana Gioia

Chairman

National Endowment for the Arts

Photo by Vance Jacobs

Table of Contents

A Brief History of the Program .............................................. 1

Program Overview.................................................................... 3

2009 NEA Jazz Masters .......................................................... 5

George Benson .............................................................................6

Jimmy Cobb..................................................................................7

Lee Konitz ....................................................................................8

Toots Thielemans ........................................................................9

Snooky Young............................................................................10

Rudy Van Gelder.......................................................................11

NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony...................................... 12

1982–2009 NEA Jazz Masters .............................................. 13

NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson leads his 

orchestra at the 2005 NEA Jazz Masters 

awards concert in Long Beach, California. 

Photo by Vance Jacobs

2009 NEA Jazz Masters 1

NEA Jazz Master Slide Hampton takes a solo at the 2007 NEA Jazz Masters awards concert in New York City.

Photo by Michael Wilderman

Amelding of African and European music 

and cultures, jazz was born in America, 

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. In a decade, 

jazz funding went from $20,000 in 1970 to $1.5 

million in 1980 to more than $2.8 million in 2005, 

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 

A Brief History of the Program
2 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

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 often dying 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 

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 much 

needed 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 Foster, Chico Freeman, Jackie 

McLean, and Archie Shepp. In addition, legendary 

Riverside record company co-owner and producer 

Orrin Keepnews 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, the number 

of fellowships awarded increased, and a new award 

was created for those individuals who helped 

to advance the appreciation of jazz. In 2005, the 

advocacy 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, Chairman Dana Gioia greatly expanded 

the NEA Jazz Masters initiative 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. 

This led to a new program, NEA Jazz Masters Live, 

which brings these jazz legends to selected events for 

performances, master classes, and lectures. A new 

arts education component was created in partnership 

with Jazz at Lincoln Center and with support from the 

Verizon Foundation, NEA Jazz in the Schools. This 

educational resource for high school teachers of social 

studies, U.S. history, and music includes a five-unit, 

Web-based curriculum and DVD toolkit that explores 

jazz as an indigenous American art form and as a 

means to understand U.S. history (more information 

can be found at www.neajazzintheschools.org). New 

broadcasting programming was created, such as 14 

one-hour shows on NEA Jazz Masters featured on the 

public radio series Jazz Profiles, hosted by NEA Jazz 

Master Nancy Wilson, and Jazz Moments, radio shorts 

for broadcast on SIRIUS XM Radio. 

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. 

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007, the 

award continues to offer 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. 
2009 NEA Jazz Masters 3

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 contribution 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 with 

awards currently given in the categories of rhythm 

instrumentalist, solo instrumentalist, vocalist, 

keyboardist, arranger/composer, and bandleader. 

There is also a special award given to a nonmusician, the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master 

Award for Jazz Advocacy, which is awarded 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 submitting a nomination and on 

the NEA Jazz Masters award is available on the NEA 

Web site: www.arts.gov.

2008 NEA Jazz Masters Gunther Schuller, Quincy Jones, and Candido Camero 

at the NEA Jazz Masters panel discussion in Toronto, Canada. 

Photo by Tom Pich

Program Overview

Photo by Lee Tanner

2009 Fellows

SOLO Instrumentalist

Goerge Benson

Rhythm Instrumentalist

Jimmy Cobb

SOLO Instrumentalist

Lee Konitz

SOLO Instrumentalist

Toots Thielemans

SOLO Instrumentalist

Snooky Young

A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz 

masters award for 

Jazz advocacy

Rudy Van Gelder

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.

2009 NEA Jazz Master 

Toots Thielemans
6 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

Appreciated as both a musician and performer, 

George Benson plays the dual role of expert 

improviser and vibrant entertainer. Rounding out 

his singular approach with a strong sense of swing, he is 

considered one of the greatest guitarists in jazz.

Benson began his career as a guitarist working the 

corner pubs of his native Pittsburgh. Legendary jazz 

guitarist Wes Montgomery came across Benson early 

on, complimenting him and urging him to continue his 

already impressive work. In the early 1960s, Benson 

apprenticed with organist Brother Jack McDuff; he found 

the organist’s gritty swing a fertile ground for the sly, 

confident, and adventurous guitar lines that earned him 

an early reputation as a master.

By the time 

legendary talent scout 

John Hammond signed 

Benson to Columbia, 

the guitarist’s name 

was becoming known 

throughout the 

industry. In the late 

1960s he sat in on 

Miles Davis’ Miles in 

the Sky sessions, and 

also put a personal 

spin on the tunes from 

the Beatles’ Abbey 

Road. Joining the CTI 

label in 1970, Benson was united with many of jazz’s 

finest instrumentalists—including Stanley Turrentine, 

Ron Carter, and Freddie Hubbard—and released classic 

albums, such as Beyond the Blue Horizon. 

Despite his success, Benson’s desire to combine his 

singing and guitar playing was blocked until he worked 

with music producer Tommy LiPuma. The result was 

Breezin’, the first jazz record to attain platinum sales. 

The 1976 blockbuster, his first in a long association 

with Warner Brothers Records, brought Benson to the 

attention of the general public with such hits as his soulful 

rendition of Leon Russell’s “This Masquerade,” which 

featured the guitarist scatting along with his solo break. He 

followed up with many pop hits, including a sultry version 

of “On Broadway” and the irresistible “Give Me the Night” 

(produced by Quincy Jones).

In the mid-1990s Benson followed LiPuma to the GRP 

label where they released three well-received albums 

highlighting Benson’s vocal and guitar prowess. In 2006, 

Benson and vocalist/songwriter Al Jarreau released Givin’ 

It Up with Benson’s current label, Concord Music Group.

Benson has won ten Grammy Awards, thrilling 

many crowds around the world with his performances, 

including recent appearances at Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka 

celebration and the Mawazine Festival in Morocco. 

Guitarist Vocalist

George 

Benson

Born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, PA

Photo by Lee Tanner

The New Boss Guitar of George Benson,

Prestige/OJC, 1964

The Other Side of Abbey Road, A&M, 1969

Weekend in L.A., Warner Brothers, 1977

Tenderly, Warner Brothers, 1989

Absolute Benson, GRP, 1999

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2009 NEA Jazz Masters 7

An accomplished accompanist 

and soloist, Jimmy Cobb is best 

known for being a key part of 

Miles Davis’ first great quintet in the 

late 1950s. 

Largely self-taught, Cobb spent 

his younger days in his hometown 

Washington, DC, playing engagements 

with Charlie Rouse, Frank Wess, and 

Billie Holiday, among others. He left 

DC in 1950, joining Earl Bostic, with 

whom he cut his first recordings, before 

finding work with Dinah Washington, 

Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy 

Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley.

In 1957, Cobb began playing with 

Miles Davis, eventually becoming part of a formidable 

rhythm section that included Paul Chambers on bass 

and Wynton Kelly on piano. Between 1957 and 1963, 

Cobb played (along with saxophonists John Coltrane 

and Cannonball Adderley) on some of Davis’ most noted 

records: Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Someday My 

Prince Will Come, Live at Carnegie Hall, Live at the 

Blackhawk, and Porgy and Bess, among others. In 1963, 

Cobb left the Davis band to continue working as a trio 

with Chambers and Kelly. The trio disbanded in the late 

1960s, and Cobb worked with singer Sarah Vaughan for 

nine years. He then freelanced for the next 20 years 

with artists such as Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, Ricky 

Ford, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George 

Coleman, David “Fathead” Newman, 

and Nancy Wilson.

Cobb released his first CD (and 

music video) for the A&E network in 

1986 that featured Freddie Hubbard, 

Gregory Hines, and Bill Cosby. In 

2006, Cobb was produced by Branford 

Marsalis for the Marsalis Music 

Honor Series, recorded around Cobb’s 

75th birthday. In the last few years, 

he has released several albums as 

a leader—New York Time, Cobb’s 

Corner, and West of 5th—playing with 

stalwart musicians such as pianists 

Cedar Walton and Hank Jones and 

relative newcomers such as bassist Christian McBride and 

trumpeter Roy Hargrove. 

Jimmy Cobb continues to play music in New York City, 

where he lives with his wife and two children. He now 

leads the Jimmy Cobb “So What” Band, celebrating 50 

years of Kind of Blue and the music of Miles Davis, and 

travels the international circuit as he approaches his 80th 

birthday. Cobb currently teaches master classes at Stanford 

University’s Jazz Workshop and has taught at The New 

School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the University of 

Greensboro in North Carolina, the International Center for 

the Arts at San Francisco State University in California, 

and international educational institutions.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue,

Columbia, 1959

Wes Montgomery, Smokin’ at 

the Half Note, Verve, 1965

Joe Henderson, Four!, Verve, 1968

Marsalis Music Honor Series,

Marsalis Music/Rounder, 2005

Cobb’s Corner, Chesky, 2006

Drummer EDUCATOR

Jimmy 

Cobb

Born January 20, 1929 in Washington, DC

Rhythm in

strumentalis

t 2009

Photo by Lee Tanner
8 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

Lee Konitz is one of the more distinctive alto 

saxophonists in jazz since Charlie Parker (and one 

of the few that did not outright copy Parker’s style), 

pairing his individual style and voice with a strong sense 

of innovation. 

Born to an Austrian father and a Russian mother in 

Chicago, Konitz as a youth studied clarinet, then alto 

saxophone with various teachers. 

In the early 1940s, Konitz met noted 

pianist Lennie Tristano, under whose 

influence and tutelage Kontiz’s mature 

style in jazz began to emerge. His 

recordings with Tristano include 

the 1949 releases “Intuition” and 

“Digression”—precursors to the “free 

jazz” movement of the 1960s.

In 1947, Konitz played with the 

Claude Thornhill Orchestra, meeting 

Gil Evans, who was then arranging 

for Thornhill. Evans brought Konitz 

along to participate in Miles Davis’ 

nonet performances and recordings 

(Birth of the Cool, 1948-50), considered 

the beginning point for what came to 

be called “cool jazz.” Konitz went on to play with Gerry 

Mulligan and Chet Baker’s influential band and worked 

from 1952-53 in Stan Kenton’s big band. From then on, he 

mainly led his own small groups, occasionally touring 

abroad.

In the early 1960s, as opportunities for performances 

declined, Konitz withdrew from the music business 

and took on day work. He continued to develop his 

unique sound, however, occasionally working with such 

musicians as Paul Bley, Martial Solal, Charlie Haden, 

and Brad Mehldau. He also worked as a private teacher, 

conducting lessons by tape with students worldwide. 

Konitz joined with Warne Marsh, his 

fellow sideman from early Tristano 

sessions, to tour Europe and record 

in 1975-76; he also founded his own 

nonet and performed regularly during 

the 1980s. In 1992, Konitz won the 

prestigious Danish JAZZPAR Prize.

With his insatiable musical 

curiosity, Konitz records in a variety 

of different settings. His later albums 

include French impressionist music 

with a string quartet (Lee Konitz & 

The Axis String Quartet Play French 

Impressionist Music from the 20th 

Century), work with the Orquestra 

Jazz de Matosinhos (Portology), and an 

album with the big band Mark Masters 

Ensemble (One Day with Lee). Konitz divides his time 

between residences in the United States and Germany and 

continues to travel and perform around the globe. 

Subconscious-Lee, Prestige/OJC, 1949-50

The Lee Konitz Duets, Milestone/OJC, 1967

The New York Album, Soul Note, 1987

New Nonet, Omnitone, 2006

Lee Konitz-Ohad Talmor Big Band, 

Portology, Omnitone, 2007

Saxophonist Composer Educator

Lee

Konitz

Born October 13, 1927 in Chicago, IL

Photo by Michael Wilderman

2009 SOLO in

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2009 NEA Jazz Masters 9

Harmonica player, guitarist, and whistler Jean 

Baptiste “Toots” Thielemans has been credited 

by jazz aficionados as being among the greatest 

jazz harmonica players of the 20th century, improvising 

on an instrument more known in folk and blues music. 

Thielesman is known to audiences young and old, his 

harmonica heard on the Sesame Street theme and his 

whistling heard in an “Old Spice” commercial. 

Thielemans learned to play the accordion at the age 

of three, took up chromatic harmonica at 17, and taught 

himself to play the guitar. Influenced by Django Reinhardt 

and Charlie Parker, he became interested in jazz. In 1950, 

Thielemans toured Europe as a guitarist with the Benny 

Goodman Sextet. He immigrated to the United States in 

1952, getting a chance to play with Charlie Parker’s AllStars. His performance so impressed George Shearing 

that he invited Thielemans into his band, where he stayed 

until 1959. 

In 1961, Thielemans composed and recorded 

“Bluesette” using unison whistling and guitar, and ever 

since has been greatly in demand—particularly for his 

harmonica and his whistling—on pop records and as a 

jazz soloist. Thielemans began freelancing, playing and 

recording with Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, 

Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Astrud Gilberto, and Elis Regina, 

among others. He also made prominent appearances on 

movie soundtracks, notably on The Pawnbroker, Midnight 

Cowboy, and The Sugarland Express.

Thielemans has 

appeared as a leader of 

swing and bop quartets 

on recordings and at 

international festivals. 

At the Montreux 

International Jazz 

Festival, he recorded as 

a sideman with Oscar 

Peterson in 1975, then 

with Dizzy Gillespie in 

1980. Thielemans’ twovolume Brasil Project was 

popular in the 1990s and 

featured top Brazilian 

musicians. 

A perennial winner of Down Beat readers and critics 

polls in the category “miscellaneous instruments,” 

Thielemans was called “one of the greatest musicians 

of our time” by Quincy Jones in 1995. Thielemans has 

received many awards and titles, including the French 

“Chevalier des arts et des lettres” honors and honorary 

doctorates from both universities in the city of Brussels. In 

2001, Belguim’s King Albert II bestowed on him the title 

“Baron,” making him Baron Jean “Toots” Thielemans. 

Harmonica Player Guitarist

2009

Photo by Lee Tanner

Man Bites Harmonica,

Riverside/OJC, 1957-58

Do Not Leave Me, Vintage Jazz, 1986

Only Trust Your Heart, Concord Jazz, 1988

East Coast West Coast, Private Music, 1994

Toots and Kenny Werner, Verve, 2001

Toots

Thielemans

Born April 29, 1922 in Brussels, Belgium

inSOLO strumentalis

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10 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

Known for his prowess 

with the plunger 

mute, Eugene Edward 

“Snooky” Young’s trumpet 

playing is most often heard 

in the context of the big band. 

For 30 years, he was heard 

every week night as a member 

of the Tonight Show orchestra. 

Young began playing 

the trumpet at five and by 

his early teens was working 

in various regional bands. 

From 1939-1942 he made 

a name for himself as lead trumpeter and soloist in 

the Jimmie Lunceford band. From 1942 to 1947 Young 

worked with Les Hite, Benny Carter, and Gerald Wilson, 

as well as with the Count Basie band, where he replaced 

trumpet player Ed Lewis. Young led his own band in his 

hometown of Dayton from 1947 to 1957 and continued to 

perform periodically with both Lionel Hampton and Basie 

from the early 1960s.

Upon leaving Basie in 1962, Young began his longest 

engagement with a band as a trumpeter for the Doc 

Severinson band on the Tonight Show. In 1972, he moved 

to Los Angeles when the show relocated to the 

West Coast, and remained until Johnny Carson 

left in 1992.

Young continue to work on other projects 

as well. He was a founding member of the 

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966, 

and throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he 

played with a variety of big bands, including on 

recordings by such jazz greats as Louis Bellson, 

Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, and

Jimmy Smith. Young has worked outside of jazz 

as well, playing with the rock group the Band 

on New Year’s Eve in 1971 and on the classic 

1976 blues recording Bobby Bland and B.B. King 

Together Again...Live.

Young has worked since with several Los Angeles big 

bands, and has issued three albums under his own name, 

including Horn of Plenty, which demonstrated his solo 

gifts as a strong lead trumpeter. Young has appeared as 

a soloist at jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland; The 

Hague, Holland; Antibes, France; and Concord, California. 

His work has appeared on numerous soundtracks as well, 

including The Color Purple. He continues to perform and 

tour with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the 

Gerald Wilson Orchestra.

Photo by Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES

Jimmie Lunceford, 

1939-1940, Classics, 1939-40

Count Basie, Kansas City Suite, Roulette, 1960

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Live at the 

Village Vanguard, Solid State, 1967

Horn of Plenty, Concord Jazz, 1979

Gerald Wilson, State Street Suite,

MAMA Foundation, 1994

Trumpeter

Snooky

Young

Born February 3, 1919 in Dayton, OH 2009 SOLO in

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2009 NEA Jazz Masters 11

Considered by many the greatest recording engineer 

in jazz, Rudy Van Gelder has recorded practically 

every major jazz musician of the 1950s and 1960s on 

thousands of albums. 

Van Gelder became involved with amateur radio 

as a teenager, which led to his interest in microphones 

and electronics. Since recording consoles were not 

then manufactured commercially, he created his own 

equipment and set up a studio in his parents’ living room 

in Hackensack, New Jersey. An optometrist by day, Van 

Gelder began recording local jazz musicians in his free 

time. 

In 1953, saxophonist Gil Mellé introduced Van Gelder 

to Blue Note founder Alfred Lion, beginning a 14-year 

association with the 

label. He recorded 

practically every 

session that Blue Note 

produced during that 

time period, from 

obscure sessions like 

Jutta Hipp with Zoot 

Sims in 1956 to the 

popular Maiden Voyage

by Herbie Hancock 

in 1965. Van Gelder’s 

notable recordings 

helped establish Blue 

Note’s reputation as an elite jazz label. They also enticed 

other labels, such as Prestige, Savoy, and Impulse!, to seek 

out his recording skills. 

In 1959, needing a larger space for Blue Note and his 

other clients, Van Gelder finally quit his day job and 

moved his studio to a new facility he built in Englewood 

Cliffs, New Jersey, where he has remained ever since. He 

became the house engineer for Creed Taylor’s CTI label in 

the early 1970s. 

The signature Van Gelder sound features a clearly 

defined separation among the instruments, ensuring 

that every sonic detail is clear and audible. This was 

accomplished by the strategic placement of instruments 

in the studio, though his exact technique has always been 

a closely guarded secret. Van Gelder’s main goal was to 

create the best mood for the musicians to perform in, 

and from the results, he seems to have greatly succeeded. 

Among the timeless recordings made under his aegis are 

John Coltrane’s Blue Train (Blue Note) Miles Davis’ Workin’

(Prestige), Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure (Blue Note), 

Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay (CTI), and Wayne Shorter’s 

Speak No Evil (Blue Note).

Van Gelder still freelances for a variety of labels 

and since 1999 has been instrumental in the modern 

remastering of his original recordings—most notably the 

Blue Note RVG series—with the conversion from analog to 

digital formats.

Sonny Rollins, Volume 2, Blue Note, 1957

Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else,

Blue Note, 1958

Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Prestige/OJC, 1960

John Coltrane, A Love Supreme,

Impulse!, 1964

Joe Henderson, Lush Life: The Music 

of Billy Strayhorn, Verve, 1991

Recording Engineer

Rudy

Van Gelder

Born November 2, 1924 in Jersey City, NJ

Photo by Francis Wolff © Mosaic Images

A.B. SPELLMAN NEA JAZZ MASTERS AWARD FORJAZZ

A

D

V

OCACY 2009
12 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

NEA Jazz Masters 

Award Ceremony

NEA Jazz Masters events include a luncheon for all attending NEA Jazz 

Masters (and a group photo), portraits of the new class of honorees, and a 

special concert and awards ceremony. Below are a few candid moments from 

the last few years.

Hank Jones, Barry Harris, Billy Taylor 

Photo by Tom Pich

David Baker, 

Freddie Hubbard, 

James Moody 

Photo by Tom Pich

Ornette Coleman

Photo by Katja von Schuttenbach

Frank Wess, Gerald Wilson, Jon Hendricks 

Photo by Tom Pich

Jimmy Smith, Kenny 

Burrell, Slide Hampton, 

Paquito D’Rivera

Photo by Vance Jacobs

Chico Hamilton, 

Roy Haynes

Photo by Vance Jacobs

Chick Corea, 

Roy Haynes, 

Ron Carter

Photo by Tom Pich

Benny Golson, 

Jimmy Heath, 

Percy Heath 

Photo by Tom Pich
2009 NEA Jazz Masters 13

1982–2009

1982Roy Eld

ridge*

Dizzy

Gillespie*

Sun R

a*

1983Count Basi

e*

K

enny Clarke*

Sonny Rollins

1984Or

nette Coleman

MilesDavis*

Max Roa

ch*

1985Gil Evans

*

Ella Fitzgerald

*

J

o Jones*

1986Benny C

arter*

D

exterGordon*

Teddy Wilson

*

1987Cl

eo Brown*

M

elbaListon*

Jay

McShann*

1988Art Blake

y*

Lion

elHampton*

Billy

Taylor

1989Barry

Harris

Hank Jones

SarahVaughan*

1990Ge

orge Russell

CecilTaylor

Gerald Wilson

1991Danny B

arker*

B

uck Clayton*

Andy K

irk*

Clark

Terry

1992Betty C

arter*

D

orothyDonegan*

Sweets Edison

*

1993Jon

Hendricks

MiltHinton*

J

oe Williams*

1994Loui

e Bellson

Ahmad Jamal Carmen McRa

e*

1995Ray B

rown*

Roy

Haynes

HoraceSilver

1996Tommy Flanagan

*

B

ennyGolson

J.J. Johnson*

1997Billy

Higgins*

Milt Jackson

*

Anita

O’Day*

1998Ron C

arter

JamesMoody

WayneShorter

1999Dav

e Brubeck

Art Farmer*

J

oeHenderson*

2000David B

aker

Donald Byrd

MarianMcPartland

2001John

Lewis*

Jack

ieMcLean*

Randy Weston

2002Fran

k Foster

PercyHeath*

M

cCoyTyner

2003Jimmy

Heath

Elvin Jones*

Abbe

yLincoln

2004Jim

Hall

ChicoHamilton

HerbieHancock

LutherHenderson*

Nat

Hentoff

Nancy Wilson

2005Kenny B

urrell

PaquitoD’Rivera

SlideHampton

ShirleyHorn*

Jimmy

Smith*

A

rtieShaw*

G

eorge Wein

2006Ray B

arretto*

Tony B

ennett

Bob Brookmeyer

Chick Corea

BuddyDeFranco

FreddieHubbard

JohnLevy

2007Toshi

koAkiyoshi

Curtis Fuller

RamseyLewis

DanMorgenstern

JimmyScott

Frank Wess

Phil Woods

2008Candido Camer

o

AndrewHill*

Quin

cy Jones

TomMcIntosh

GuntherSchuller

Joe Wilder

2009Geo

rge Benson

Jimmy Cobb

Lee Konitz Toots Thiel

emans

RudyVanGelder

SnookyYoung

* Deceased

NEA Jazz Master Billy Taylor and his trio perform 

during the 2004 NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony 

and concert in New York City. 

Photo by Tom Pich
National Endowment for the Arts

1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20506-0001

202.682.5400

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