2015
NEA Jazz Masters 2015
NATIONAL 

ENDOWMENT

FOR THE

ARTS

2015 Fellows

Carla Bley

George Coleman

Charles Lloyd

Joe Segal
NEA Jazz Masters 2015
Introduction..............................................................................1

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

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

2015 NEA Jazz Masters............................................................7

Carla Bley.......................................................................................8

George Coleman............................................................................9

Charles Lloyd...............................................................................10

Joe Segal......................................................................................11

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982–2015..............................................12

NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony...................................14

Pianist Jason Moran and guitarist Bill 

Frisell perform 2014 NEA Jazz Master Keith 

Jarrett’s “Memories of Tomorrow” at the 

2014 awards concert. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

Contents
iv NEA Jazz Masters 2015

The NEA is committed to preserving the legacy of jazz not just for this ”

generation, but for future generations as well. ”
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 1

IT IS MY PLEASURE to introduce the 2015 class of NEA Jazz 

Masters. The NEA Jazz Masters awards—the nation’s highest 

recognition of jazz in America—are given to those who have 

reached the pinnacle of their art: musicians and advocates who 

had, and continue to have, a significant impact on one of the great 

artistic inventions of the 20th century. 

Although jazz was created in this country, its popularity and 

influence have spread throughout the world, one of America’s 

most influential and distinguished exports. And the influence 

of other cultures on jazz has been crucial to its development as 

well—from African to European to Latin American. Even people 

coming to the U.S. are seeking out jazz—our recent 2012 Survey 

of Public Participation in the Arts showed that “jazz attendance 

was...buoyed by an increase in the share of U.S. immigrants who 

attended [live performances].” 

This year, we honor composer, arranger, bandleader, and 

keyboardist Carla Bley; saxophonist, composer, and educator 

George Coleman; saxophonist, flutist, composer, and arranger 

Charles Lloyd; and recipient of the 2015 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz 

Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, Joe Segal, jazz presenter and 

longtime owner of Chicago’s Jazz Showcase. 

The NEA has steadily supported jazz, from our first jazz grant 

in 1969, which went to future NEA Jazz Master George Russell, 

to a 2015 grant to Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, 

for a jazz festival featuring NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter. The 

NEA is committed to preserving the legacy of jazz not just for this 

generation, but for future generations as well. 

I would like to thank our partner Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) 

for bringing the NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony and concert 

to you. The awards ceremony and concert will be webcast live by 

JALC (jazz.org) and the NEA (arts.gov) to communities throughout 

the country. The webcast will be archived for later viewing. 

Please join me in honoring the 2015 NEA Jazz Masters for 

their work in the jazz field and their contributions to the nation’s 

cultural heritage. 

Jane Chu

Chairman 

National Endowment for the Arts

Photo by Strauss Peyton Studios
2 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

 A Brief History 

of the Program

NEA Jazz Masters (from left) Danny 

Barker, Buck Clayton, and Clark Terry at 

the 1991 ceremony. 

Photo by Michael Wilderman
NEA Jazz Masters 2015

3

A MELDING 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 danceoriented, focusing on freeing up 

improvisation and rhythm. It was 

moving in a new artistic direction, 

and, if this high quality were to be 

maintained, it would need some 

assistance. 

NEA support for the jazz field 

began in 1969, and by 2013 it had 

risen to more than $2.5 million. 

Activities supported by the NEA 

include 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 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. Thse awards 

are 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 

Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana 

performs with NEA Jazz Master Jimmy 

Heath at the 2014 awards concert. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

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 
4 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

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 (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 

NEA Jazz Master David Liebman 

performs at the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters 

Award Ceremony and Concert at Jazz at 

Lincoln Center in New York City. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

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. That 

program was followed by NEA 

Jazz Masters Live, which from 

2008 to 2014 brought 51 NEA 

Jazz Masters to 33 venues 

nationwide, with performances 

and educational activities reaching 

more than 200,000 people, 

including 13,000 youth. 

New broadcast 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 to document 

the lives and careers of NEA 

Jazz Masters (go to 

www.smithsonianjazz.org

and click on “Oral Histories”). In 

addition to transcriptions of the 

hours-long interviews, the website 

also includes audio clips that 

provide unique views on everything 

from their early years to their first 

introduction to music to the 

working life of a jazz musician in 

the artists’ voices. 

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. 
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 5

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT

for the Arts recognizes the 

importance of jazz as one of 

the great American art forms of 

the 20th and 21st centuries. As 

part of its efforts to honor those 

distinguished artists whose 

excellence, impact, and significant 

contributions in jazz have helped 

keep this important 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. 

Nominees must be citizens or 

permanent residents of the 

United States. An individual may 

submit one nomination each 

year. Nominations are made by 

submitting a one-page letter 

detailing the reasons that the 

nominated artist should receive an 

NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship and 

a resume or biography (maximum: 

two pages) that outlines 

the career of the nominee. 

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 reconsidered 

annually during this period.

Posthumous nominations will 

not be considered. Individuals who 

have previously received an NEA 

lifetime honor award (National 

Heritage Fellowship, Jazz Masters 

Fellowship, or an Opera Honor) 

are not eligible.

Information on the NEA Jazz 

Masters award is available on the 

NEA website: arts.gov.

NEA Jazz Masters Kenny Barron 

and Jimmy Owens play Frank Wess’ 

“Placitude” during the 2014 ceremony 

in honor of the awardees who had 

passed away during 2013. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

Program Overview
6 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

CL_ZH_Copenhagen: 2015 NEA Jazz Master 

Charles Lloyd (right) performing with NEA 

National Heritage Fellow Zakir Hussain. Photo 

by Dorothy Darr
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 7

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.

2015 Fellows

Carla Bley

George Coleman

Charles Lloyd

Joe Segal

2015 NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd 

(right) performing with NEA National 

Heritage Fellow Zakir Hussain at the 2013 

Copenhagen Jazz Festival. 

Photo by D. Darr
8 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

One of the premier composers of 

the last 50+ years, Carla Bley has 

written music for big bands, choirs, 

chamber orchestras, and small 

combos. Her work demonstrates 

a wide compositional range as 

well as a healthy sense of humor. 

Bley’s skills have been in demand 

even outside of jazz, including 

performing and recording with 

Jack Bruce, Robert Wyatt, and Pink 

Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason. 

Bley’s father, Emil Borg, was 

a church organist and piano 

teacher—he first introduced her 

to music when she was three, and 

she first heard jazz when she was 

12. She moved to New York at 

age 17, working as a cigarette girl 

at the jazz club Birdland, where 

she met pianist Paul Bley, whom 

she married in 1957. Immersed in 

the city’s jazz scene, she began 

to write compositions, which 

Paul Bley and a number of other 

musicians, such as Art Farmer, 

Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, 

and Tony Williams, began to 

record. 

In 1964, with her second 

husband, trumpeter Michael 

Mantler, she formed the Jazz 

Composer’s Orchestra and 

subsequently founded the Jazz 

Composer’s Orchestra Association, 

an independent record label 

focusing on more avant-garde 

forms of jazz, such as Bley’s 

collaboration with poet Paul 

Haines on the groundbreaking work 

Escalator over the Hill. 

Bley’s compositions and 

arrangements reached wider 

audiences through such recordings 

as Gary Burton’s A Genuine Tong 

Funeral, an album dedicated to 

Bley’s first extended composition, 

and Charlie Haden’s The 

Liberation Music Orchestra. 

In 1972, Bley and Mantler 

started a new record label, Watt, 

on which she has since issued 

recordings of her work. She also 

began experimenting outside of 

jazz, joining Jack Bruce’s band in 

1975, writing all the compositions 

for and performing on Nick 

Mason’s 1981 album Nick Mason’s 

Fictitious Sports, and recording 

the soundtrack to the 1985 film 

Mortelle Randonnée. In 1997, a live 

production of Escalator over the 

Hill was staged in Germany, then 

toured Europe the following year. 

Among the awards bestowed 

upon Bley are a Guggenheim 

Fellowship for music composition 

(1972), the German Jazz Trophy “A 

Life for Jazz” (2009), and honorary 

doctorates from l’Université de 

Toulouse-Le Mirail (2012) and the 

New England Conservatory (2014). 

Bley has toured all over the 

world, including Brazil, Japan, 

South Korea, and just about 

everywhere in Europe. She 

continues to perform and record 

frequently, both with her own big 

band and a number of smaller 

ensembles, notably the Lost Chords 

(including bassist Steve Swallow, 

saxophonist Andy Sheppard, and 

drummer Billy Drummond). 

Carla Bley

Born May 11, 1936 in Oakland, CA

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

COMPOSER

ARRANGER

BANDLEADER

KEYBOARDIST

Carla Bley/Paul Haines, 

Escalator over the Hill

(JCOA, 1968-71)

Fleur Carnivore

(WATT, 1989)

The Carla Bley Big Band 

Goes to Church

(WATT, 1996)

The Lost Chords Find 

Paolo Fresu

(WATT, 1996)

Trios

(ECM, 2012)

Photo by Elena Carminati
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 9

George Coleman

Born March 8, 1935 in Memphis, TN

The spectrum of George Coleman’s 

musical career extends from 

playing blues in the Beale Street 

clubs of Memphis on one end to 

blowing modern jazz on the New 

York stages on the other. His 

deeply soulful tone continues to 

provide memorable support to the 

numerous jazz greats he works 

with and is woven tightly into the 

fabric of his own compositions. 

Coleman grew up in Memphis 

alongside jazz musicians such as 

Booker Little and Harold Mabern. 

Intrigued by the music of Charlie 

Parker, Coleman taught himself to 

play the alto saxophone. In 1952, 

at the age of 17, he got his first 

big break with blues guitarist (and 

NEA National Heritage Fellow) B.B. 

King, touring and recording with 

him for several years. Coleman 

switched to tenor sax when 

King needed a tenor man in his 

band (and bought Coleman the 

instrument). 

In 1956, Coleman moved to 

Chicago and joined Walter Perkins’ 

group MJT+3. In 1958, he attracted 

the attention of drummer Max 

Roach and was offered a position 

in his band, requiring Coleman 

to relocate to New York City. In 

1959, he signed on with trombonist 

Slide Hampton’s octet, which 

afforded Coleman opportunities 

to tour Europe for the first time 

and develop his composing and 

arranging skills. 

In 1963, Miles Davis came 

calling, and Coleman was soon 

part of the groundbreaking quintet 

that included Herbie Hancock

(piano), Ron Carter (bass), and 

Tony Williams (drums). In addition 

to the group’s four classic albums, 

Coleman also played on Hancock’s 

landmark Blue Note recording, 

Maiden Voyage.

After leaving Davis’ group, from 

1964-74 Coleman freelanced as a 

composer and arranger for various 

musicians, such as Betty Carter, 

Chet Baker, Lionel Hampton, Lee 

Morgan, Elvin Jones, Charles 

Mingus, and Cedar Walton. He 

then began to focus on his own 

groups, working in quartet, quintet, 

and octet settings, and adding 

the soprano saxophone to his 

instrument repertoire. Coleman 

has played at festivals and in 

prestigious concert halls and top 

clubs around the United States 

and in Europe. He continues to 

perform, usually with his son 

George, Jr. on drums. 

During the past 30 years, 

Coleman also has made a name for 

himself as a jazz educator, holding 

teaching positions at Mannes 

College The New School for 

Music, Long Island University, and 

New York University, in addition 

to conducting master classes at 

universities nationwide. A winner 

of numerous honors and awards, 

Coleman has twice been presented 

the Key to the City of Memphis. 

In 1997, he received the Jazz 

Foundation of America’s Lifetime 

Achievement Award, and in 2012, 

he was inducted into the Memphis 

Music Hall of Fame. 

SAXOPHONIST

COMPOSER

EDUCATOR

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Max Roach, Deeds, 

Not Words

(RIVERSIDE, 1958)

Miles Davis, Four & More

(COLUMBIA, 1964)

At Yoshi’s

(EVIDENCE, 1987)

My Horns of Plenty

(DREYFUS RECORDS, 1991)

Four Generations of 

Miles

(CHESKY, 2002)

Photo by Lena Adasheva
10 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

Charles Lloyd’s fierce improvisational skills and interest in fusing 

jazz with non-Western musical 

styles established him as one of 

the key figures in the expansion 

and furthering of the art form. 

Whether playing standards, avantgarde, or world music, Lloyd’s 

emotional, elegant playing spurs on 

his fellow musicians. 

Lloyd began playing saxophone 

at the age of nine, mentored by 

pianist Phineas Newborn. He 

took saxophone lessons from Irvin 

Reason and composition studies 

with Willie Mitchell. His interest in 

jazz was cultivated by listening to 

the radio broadcasts featuring the 

likes of Charlie Parker, Coleman 

Hawkins, Billie Holiday, and 

Duke Ellington. As a teenager, 

he immersed himself in the local 

Memphis music scene, playing 

with George Coleman, Booker 

Little, Harold Mabern, and Frank 

Strozier, and as a sideman for 

Johnny Ace, Bobby “Blue” Bland, 

Howlin’ Wolf, and B.B. King. 

In 1956, Lloyd moved to Los 

Angeles and graduated from the 

University of Southern California. 

During this period, Lloyd played in 

Gerald Wilson’s big band while 

also playing in local clubs with 

Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, 

Eric Dolphy, Billy Higgins, Scott 

La Faro, and Bobby Hutcherson. 

Lloyd joined Chico Hamilton’s 

band in 1960 as the ensemble’s 

music director and main composer. 

In 1964, Lloyd left Hamilton’s 

group to join alto saxophonist 

Cannonball Adderley, while also 

securing a deal on Columbia to 

record his own work. By 1965 

he had left Adderley to form his 

own quartet, featuring pianist 

Keith Jarrett, drummer Jack 

DeJohnette, and bassist Cecil 

McBee. Their recording Forest 

Flower: Live at Monterey in 1966 

became one of the first jazz 

recordings to sell a million copies, 

and popularized the group in the 

rock world as well. Lloyd’s quartet 

made headlines in 1967 when 

they played in the Soviet Union at 

the invitation of a group of Soviet 

jazz writers, finally performing 

after several days of bureaucratic 

back-and-forth with government 

officials.

In 1969, at the peak of his 

career, Lloyd disbanded the 

quartet and moved back to Big Sur, 

California, to focus on his inner life 

and spiritual quest. From 1981-88, 

Lloyd performed intermittently, 

until he resumed touring activities 

and began recording with the 

ECM label in 1989. He continues 

to experiment with his music in 

terms of instruments, musical 

sources, and collaborations, such 

as his Sangam Trio featuring Zakir 

Hussain (an NEA National Heritage 

Fellow) and his concert with the 

classical Greek singer Maria 

Farantouri in 2010.

Awards bestowed on the artist 

include a “Brass Note” on Beale 

Street in Memphis in 2012, an 

Award of Merit from the city of 

Tallinn, Estonia, and the Miles 

Davis Award from the Festival 

International de Jazz de Montreal, 

Canada, both in 2013, and the 

Alfa Jazz Fest International Music 

Award in 2014.

Charles Lloyd

Born March 15, 1938 in Memphis, TN

SAXOPHONIST

FLUTIST

COMPOSER

ARRANGER

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Chico Hamilton, Man 

from Two Worlds

(IMPULSE!, 1962-63)

Forest Flower: Charles 

Lloyd at Monterey

(ATLANTIC, 1966)

Montreux

(ELEKTRA, 1982)

The Water Is Wide

(ECM, 1999)

Charles Lloyd/Jason 

Moran, Hagar’s Song

(ECM, 2012)

Photo by Michael Wilderman
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 11

Since 1947, Joe Segal has been 

pursuing his great love: presenting 

jazz musicians in performance in 

Chicago, Illinois. From his early 

days as a college presenter to 

decades spent as impresario of 

his Jazz Showcase club, Segal has 

been integral to giving jazz greats 

a platform from which they can 

publicly share their art. Despite 

downturns in the popularity of 

jazz, downturns in the economy, 

even downturns in the real estate 

market, Segal has prevailed—his 

Jazz Showcase is still turning out 

jazz seven days a week, now under 

the auspices of his son Wayne. 

He carries the distinction of being 

the city’s longest-tenured jazz 

presenter, in addition to being one 

of the founders of one of Chicago’s 

preeminent jazz organizations, the 

Jazz Institute of Chicago, which 

promotes Chicago’s place in jazz 

history and endeavors to create 

new audiences for the music. 

From a young age, jazz music 

was an important part of Segal’s 

life. Growing up in Philadelphia, 

he listened to jazz on the radio, 

which introduced him to the likes 

of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, 

and Sidney Bechet. His first live 

jazz concert experiences were big 

band performances at the city’s 

Earl Theater. 

After high school, Segal was 

drafted into the Air Force and, 

while stationed in Champaign, 

Illinois, he frequently hopped 

on the train to Chicago to catch 

live jazz on Randolph Street. 

After leaving the military, Segal 

relocated to Chicago to attend 

Roosevelt University on the G.I. 

Bill. At Roosevelt, Segal joined the 

university’s jazz club in 1947—

soon running afternoon live jazz 

sessions that featured musicians 

he had met working at commercial 

jazz venues. The popularity of 

Segal’s events grew quickly, 

and big band musicians would 

perform solo on their off-nights, 

along with other local and visiting 

artists including the legendary 

Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and 

Sonny Rollins. 

In 1957, the sessions at 

Roosevelt ended, and shortly 

thereafter Segal began showcasing 

music at other venues (by Segal’s 

estimation, he presented jazz 

shows at 63 different locations 

over the years). In the early 

1970s, Segal opened a spot on 

Rush Street, the first official Jazz 

Showcase (its current residence 

is inside the Landmark Dearborn 

Station). Engagements usually 

encompassed five evening 

performances and a special Sunday 

matinee for kids, a Showcase 

tradition that continues to this day. 

Thousands of music fans have had 

their first live jazz experience at the 

Jazz Showcase’s various locations, 

and for many musicians, the venue 

served as a launch pad for their 

individual careers. 

In 2013, Segal received an 

honorary doctorate from his alma 

mater, Roosevelt University.

A.B. SPELLMAN 

NEA JAZZ 

MASTERS 

AWARD FOR 

JAZZ 

ADVOCACY

Joe Segal

Born April 24, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA

JAZZ PRESENTER 

AND CLUB OWNER

SELECTED 

DISCOGRAPHY

Louie Bellson, Live at Joe 

Segal’s Jazz Showcase

(CONCORD JAZZ, 1987)

Ahmad Jamal, Chicago 

Revisited: Live at Joe Segal’s 

Jazz Showcase

(TELARC JAZZ, 1992)

Marian McPartland and 

Willie Pickens, Ain’t 

Misbehavin’: Live at 

the Jazz Showcase

(CONCORD JAZZ, 2000)

Danilo Pérez, Live at 

the Jazz Showcase

(ARTISTSHARE, 2003)

Bob Lark/Phil Woods, Live 

at the Jazz Showcase

(JAZZED MEDIA, 2006)

Photo by Marc PoKempner
12 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

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*

NEA Jazz Masters, 1982-2015

* Deceased
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 13

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

2015

Carla Bley

George Coleman

Charles Lloyd

Joe Segal

2014 NEA Jazz Master 

Richard Davis performs. 

Photo by Michael G. Stewart
14 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

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 
NEA Jazz Masters 2015 15

Nancy Wilson, John Levy, Ahmad 

Jamal, RamseyLewis

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 NEA Jazz Masters 2015

CREDITS

This publication is published by:

National Endowment for the Arts

Office of Public Affairs

Don Ball, Editor

Thanks to Elizabeth Auclair, Ann Meier Baker, and 

Katja von Schuttenbach for editorial assitance.

The 2015 NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and 

Concert is produced in 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 jazz.org.

Designed by:

Fletcher Design, Inc./Washington, DC

April 2015

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 Accessibility 

to obtain this publication in an alternate format. 

Telephone: (202) 682-5532

National Endowment for the Arts

400 7th Street, SW 

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 PHOTOS: From left: 

Carla Bley

Photo by Elena Carminati

George Coleman

Photo by Lena Adasheva

Charles Lloyd

Photo by Michael Wilderman

Joe Segal

Photo by Marc PoKempner
NEA Jazz Masters 2015

In Memoriam

Buddy DeFranco 

1923-2014 

Photo by Tom Pich

Charlie Haden 

1937-2014 

Photo by Steven Perilloux

Orrin Keepnews

1923-2015

Photo by Frank Stewart

Jimmy Scott

1925-2014 

Photo by Tom Pich

Horace Silver 

1928-2014 

Photo by Tom Pich

Clark Terry 

1920-2015 

Photo by Tom Pich

Joe Wilder 

1922-2014 

Photo by Tom Pich

Gerald Wilson

1918-2014 

Photo by Tom Pich
400 7th Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20506-0001

(202) 682-5400