The 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsDAVID M. RUBENSTEIN, ChairmanDEBORAH F. RUTTER, President

Patrons are requested to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices during performances.The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in this auditorium.

CONCERT HALLMonday Evening, April 4, 2016, at 8:00

The Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Arts

present

The 2016 NEA Jazz MastersTribute Concert

Honoring the 2016 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters

GARY BURTONWENDY OXENHORNPHAROAH SANDERS

ARCHIE SHEPP

Jason Moran is the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Jazz.

WPFW 89.3 FM is a media partner of Kennedy Center Jazz.

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2016 NEA JAZZ MASTERS TRIBUTE CONCERT

Hosted by JASON MORAN, pianist and Kennedy Center artistic director for jazz

With remarks fromJANE CHU, chairman of the NEA

DEBORAH F. RUTTER, president of the Kennedy CenterTHE 2016 NEA JAZZ MASTERS

Performances byNEA JAZZ MASTERS:CHICK COREA, piano

JIMMY HEATH, saxophoneRANDY WESTON, piano

SPECIAL GUESTSAMBROSE AKINMUSIRE, trumpeterLAKECIA BENJAMIN, saxophonist

BILLY HARPER, saxophonistSTEFON HARRIS, vibraphonist

JUSTIN KAUFLIN, pianistRUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA, saxophonist

PEDRITO MARTINEZ, percussionistJASON MORAN, pianist

DAVID MURRAY, saxophonistLINDA OH, bassist

KARRIEM RIGGINS, drummer and DJROSWELL RUDD, trombonist

CATHERINE RUSSELL, vocalist


Muhal Richard AbramsJamey AebersoldToshiko AkiyoshiMose AllisonGeorge AvakianDavid Baker Danny BarkerRay BarrettoKenny BarronCount Basie Louie Bellson Tony BennettGeorge BensonArt BlakeyCarla BleyAnthony BraxtonBob BrookmeyerCleo Patra BrownRay BrownDave BrubeckKenny BurrellGary BurtonDonald ByrdCandido Camero Benny Carter Betty CarterRon CarterKenneth ClarkeBuck ClaytonJimmy CobbGeorge ColemanOrnette ColemanChick CoreaMiles Davis Richard DavisBuddy DeFrancoJack DeJohnetteLou DonaldsonDorothy DoneganPaquito D'RiveraHarry "Sweets" Edison Roy EldridgeGil EvansArt FarmerElla FitzgeraldTommy Flanagan Frank FosterVon Freeman

Curtis FullerRudy Van Gelder Dizzy GillespieBenny GolsonDexter GordonLorraine GordonCharlie HadenJim Hall Chico HamiltonLionel HamptonSlide HamptonHerbie Hancock Barry HarrisRoy Haynes Jimmy HeathPercy Heath Joe HendersonLuther HendersonJon HendricksNat HentoffBilly HigginsAndrew HillMilt HintonBill Holman Shirley HornFreddie HubbardBobby Hutcherson Milt JacksonAhmad JamalKeith JarrettJ.J. JohnsonElvin JonesHank JonesJonathan "Jo" JonesQuincy Jones Sheila JordanOrrin Keepnews Andy KirkLee KonitzHubert LawsYusef Lateef John Levy John Lewis Ramsey Lewis David LiebmanAbbey Lincoln Melba Liston

Charles LloydJohnny Mandel The Marsalis Family (EllisJr., Wynton, Delfeayo,Jason, Branford)Tom McIntosh Jackie McLean Marian McPartlandCarmen McRaeJay McShannJames MoodyDan MorgensternAnita O'Day Jimmy OwensWendy OxenhornEddie PalmieriSun RaMax RoachSonny RollinsAnnie RossGeorge RussellPharoah SandersGunther SchullerJimmy ScottJoe SegalArtie ShawArchie SheppJimmy SmithHorace SilverWayne ShorterBilly TaylorCecil TaylorClark TerryToots ThielemansMcCoy TynerSarah VaughanCedar WaltonGeorge WeinFrank WessRandy WestonJoe WilderJoe WilliamsGerald WilsonNancy WilsonTeddy WilsonPhil WoodsSnooky Young

NEA JAZZ MASTERS 1982-2016


Vibraphonist, band-leader, and educatorGary Burton’sfour-mallet tech-nique on the vibra-phone gave theinstrument a newmusical vocabularyin jazz and a fuller,more piano-likesound than the tra-

ditional two-mallet approach. He was one ofthe progenitors of jazz fusion in the late1960s, and had a decades-long educationalcareer at the Berklee College of Music. Mr.Burton taught himself to play the vibra-phone and, at the age 17, made his firstrecording in Nashville, Tennessee, with leg-endary guitarist Hank Garland. With thehelp of Chet Atkins, another leadingNashville guitarist, Mr. Burton secured arecord deal with RCA and released hisdebut album, New Vibe Man in Town, in1961 while studying at Berklee. At 19, on arecommendation from Marian McPartland,Mr. Burton joined pianist GeorgeShearing’s group, and then worked from1964 to 1966 with Stan Getz. As a memberof Getz’s quartet, he was recognized byDownBeat magazine as “Talent Deservingof Wider Recognition” (1965). In 1967, heformed a quartet featuring electric guitarist,Larry Coryell, as one of the soloists. Thequartet’s first two albums in 1967—Duster and Lofty Fake Anagram—changedthe jazz landscape by adding rock elementsto the music. In 1968, he won DownBeat’s“Jazzman of the Year” award. During thelate 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Mr. Burtoncontinued to experiment with his sound,recording Carla Bley’s album-long piece AGenuine Tong Funeral; performing in vari-ous configurations, such as solo, duos, quar-tets, and with chamber orchestras; and con-tinuing to work in other genres such ascountry, rock, tango, and classical. At thesame time, Mr. Burton continued to mentornotable guitarists in his bands, including PatMetheny, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel,and Julian Lage. In 1971, Mr. Burtonembarked on an education career at theBerklee College of Music as a teacher of per-cussion and improvisation. In 1985, he

became the institution’s dean of curriculum.In 1989, he received an honorary doctorateof music from Berklee and, in 1996, he wasappointed executive vice president, a posi-tion he held until his retirement in 2004.After his retirement from Berklee, Mr.Burton formed several new bands andexpanded his collaborations with ChickCorea, Pat Metheny, and other musicians.His Generations band in the early 2000sfeatured young musicians, and in 2012 heassembled the New Gary Burton Quartet(with Julian Lage, Antonio Sánchez, andScott Colley) with which he records andperforms. Mr. Burton has received 22Grammy nominations and won sevenGrammy Awards.

Wendy Oxenhornis the executivedirector and vicechairman of theJazz Foundation ofAmerica (JFA),which is committedto “providing jazzand blues musicianswith financial, med-ical, housing, and

legal assistance as well as performanceopportunities, with a special focus on theelderly and veterans who have paid theirdues and find themselves in crisis due to ill-ness, age, and/or circumstance.” She hasheld the position at JFA, headquartered inNew York City, since 2000. At age 14, Ms.Oxenhorn attended the School of AmericanBallet and danced with New York CityBallet. At 17, she suffered a career-endingknee injury that catapulted her into depres-sion, leading to her calling a suicide hotline.She ended up consoling the counselor onthe line, who herself was depressed. Ms.Oxenhorn began working at the suicidehotline three days later, prompting her tomake helping others her professional focus.In 1990, she co-founded Street News, a pub-lication that provided employment andincome for homeless individuals. In 1994,she launched Children of Substance, a pub-lic school program that created supportgroups for female middle school studentswith drug-addicted parents. Six years later,

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she moved on to JFA, which was founded in1989 by Billy Taylor, Herb Storfer, AnnRuckert, and Phoebe Jacobs, originally witha local focus on New York City. By 2005,due to the work of Ms. Oxenhorn, the foun-dation expanded to nationwide operationswith a full-time staff. Since 2001, she hasraised more than $25 million through eventslike the now annual “A Great Night inHarlem.” Her fundraising efforts enabledthe JFA to increase the organization’s capac-ity to provide emergency assistance from 35to more than 5,000 cases annually. The JFAparticipated on multiple levels in the 2005Hurricane Katrina relief: finding new hous-ing; creating employment opportunities formore than 1,000 displaced New Orleansmusicians and their children; and acquiringnew musical instruments to replace thoselost in the flood waters. In late 2005, Ms.Oxenhorn created the Agnes Varis Jazz inthe Schools Program. The program’s goalsare to create dignified work opportunitiesfor ill as well as unemployed and underem-ployed musicians of retirement age andintroduce the music to new audiences. Thisprogram has enabled hundreds of musiciansto participate in blues and jazz performancesfor more than 80,000 public school studentsacross approximately 15 states each year. Ms.Oxenhorn was honored for her humanitari-an efforts on behalf of jazz and blues musi-cians at the 2004 Grammy Lunch by theArtist Empowerment Coalition (AEC), anonprofit coalition of artists, musicians, andperformers. She was also honored bySESAC, WBGO FM radio, the JazzJournalists Association, and HBO. In 2015,Jazz at Lincoln Center honored her with theAshley Schiff Ramos CommunityDevelopment in Jazz Award. She also serveson the board of directors of the MontreuxJazz Festival in Switzerland and is a bluesharmonica player.

Ferrell “Pharoah”Sanders is aGrammy Award-winning jazz saxo-phonist who hasshown a remarkablefacility performingin a variety of styles,from free to main-stream, displayingwhat has been called

“hard-edged lyricism.” Emerging from JohnColtrane’s groups of the mid-1960s, Mr.Sanders is known for his distinctive soundmarked by overblowing, harmonic, and mul-tiphonic techniques. Mr. Sanders was borninto a musical family, and he took up theclarinet as a child. In high school, he wasfirst exposed to jazz by his band director. Heswitched to the tenor saxophone and soonplayed blues gigs around Little Rock. Afterhigh school, Mr. Sanders moved to Oakland,California, studying art and music at theOakland Junior College. Known in the SanFrancisco Bay Area as “Little Rock,” Mr.Sanders expanded his repertoire to includebebop, rhythm and blues, classical, and freejazz, performing with musicians such as EdKelly and Smiley Winters. In 1961, hemoved to New York City, where he firstbegan to use the name “Pharoah.” Mr.Sanders formed his first group in 1963 withpianist John Hicks, bassist Wilbur Ware, anddrummer Billy Higgins. However, he cameto greater prominence playing and recordingwith John Coltrane’s band, first on thealbum Ascension and then on their dual-tenor recording Meditations (both 1965).Mr. Sanders was strongly influenced byColtrane, including spiritual elements suchas the chanting in his release Om. In 1968,he participated in Michael Mantler and CarlaBley’s Jazz Composer’s OrchestraAssociation album, The Jazz Composer’sOrchestra. A year later, Mr. Sanders recordedone of his most commercially successfulalbums, Karma, featuring the 32-minutetrack, “The Creator has a Master Plan,”with pianist Lonnie Liston Smith and vocal-ist Leon Thomas’s unique yodeling. In the1970s, Mr. Sanders began experimentingwith African rhythms, such as on his 1971album Black Unity with bassist Stanley

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Clarke, which continues to influence hismusic. In 1994, he traveled to Morocco torecord The Trance of Seven Colors withGnawa musician Mahmoud Guinia. Towardsthe end of the decade and into the 1980s, hecontinued to explore other styles of jazz,such as modal and hard bop, and venturedinto rhythm and blues. In 1988, Mr. Sandersreceived a Grammy Award (along with McCoyTyner, Roy Haynes, Cecil McBee, and DavidMurray) for the album Blues for Coltrane: ATribute to John Coltrane. Mr. Sanders contin-ues to tour nationally and appear at majorinternational festivals.

Archie Shepp is ajazz saxophonistbest known for hisAfrocentric music ofthe late 1960s, aunique style of free-form avant-gardejazz blended withAfrican rhythms,and for his collabo-rations with John

Coltrane, Horace Parlan, Cecil Taylor, andthe New York Contemporary Five ensemble.His long career as an educator has focusedon ethnomusicology, looking at the historyof African-American music from its originsin Africa to today. Mr. Shepp was born inFlorida but grew up in Philadelphia, study-ing piano, clarinet, and alto saxophonebefore switching to the tenor. He studieddrama at Goddard College from 1955 to1959, but chose music as his main profes-sion. Mr. Shepp’s first recording under hisown name, Archie Shepp - Bill DixonQuartet, was released in 1962. Four forTrane, an album featuring four JohnColtrane compositions (and one of his own)followed in 1964, taking Coltrane’s compo-sitions into a more avant-garde directionthat Coltrane himself would follow. Mr.

Shepp’s bands in the mid-1960s featuredmusicians including Roswell Rudd, BobbyHutcherson, Beaver Harris, and GrachanMoncur III. In 1965, Mr. Shepp was a side-man on John Coltrane’s Ascension recordingand was featured—along with JohnColtrane—on New Thing at Newport, a livealbum with two sets from the 1965 NewportJazz Festival. At this time, Mr. Shepp beganlooking to African cultural and music tradi-tions for inspiration, as shown on suchrecordings as The Magic of Ju-Ju (1967), arecording featuring an African percussionensemble. Before the end of the decade, headded teaching to his activities, first at theUniversity at Buffalo, New York, and in1971 at the University of Massachusetts,where he spent the next 30 years as a profes-sor in the Afro-American Studies depart-ment. Mr. Shepp’s musical explorationsincluded spoken word and poetry compo-nents to his albums; occasionally steppingforth as a vocalist; and ballads, blues, rhythmand blues, spirituals, and tributes to otherjazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker andSidney Bechet. His 1972 albums show dis-tinct political messages: Attica Blues was aresponse to the Attica Prison riots, while TheCry of My People addressed civil rights. Mr.Shepp began touring extensively in Europeand started a continuing tradition of record-ing with European musicians, while at thesame time pursuing his musical interest inAfrican music, such as his concert with theMoroccan group Dar Gnawa in Paris in 2003.In 2004, Mr. Shepp co-founded the Frenchrecord label ArchieBall to release his albums.The 2013 release by the label, I Hear theSound by the Archie Shepp Attica BluesOrchestra, was nominated for a GrammyAward. The artist is featured in the 1981 doc-umentary film Imagine the Sound, producedby Ron Mann, and in Archie Shepp: je suis jazzc’est ma vie, a 2007 documentary by FrankCassenti.

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Established by Congress in 1965, the NEAis the independent federal agency whosefunding and support gives Americans theopportunity to participate in the arts, exer-cise their imaginations, and develop theircreative capacities. Through partnershipswith state arts agencies, local leaders, otherfederal agencies, and the philanthropic sec-tor, the NEA supports arts learning, affirmsand celebrates America’s rich and diversecultural heritage, and extends its work topromote equal access to the arts in everycommunity across America. This year marksthe 50th anniversary of the NationalEndowment for the Arts and the agency iscelebrating this milestone with events andactivities – such as this 2016 NEA JazzMasters Tribute Concert – throughSeptember 2016. Go to the 50th section atarts.gov to enjoy art stories from around thenation, peruse the Facts & Figures section,and check out the anniversary timeline.

From its earliest days, the NationalEndowment for the Arts has funded count-less jazz organizations across the country,making significant investments in support ofjazz concerts, festivals, education activities,and other programs. Initiated in 1982, theNEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the nation’shighest honor given to those who havedevoted their lives and careers to jazz, an artform uniquely rooted in American historyand culture. Described by the New YorkTimes as a “rare public accolade for jazz,” therecipients represent a panoply of musical dis-tinction, from vocalists and percussionists to

vibraphonists and saxophonists—all of whomhave advanced the music through their com-mitment to jazz. In 2004, the NEA inaugu-rated the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz MastersFellowship for Jazz Advocacy, given to anindividual whose passion for jazz and itsartists has been demonstrated through majorcontributions to the appreciation, knowl-edge, and advancement of the music.

The NEA recognizes up to four artists annu-ally, with each receiving a one-time fellow-ship of $25,000. Fellowships are awarded toliving individuals on the basis of nominationsfrom the public including the jazz communi-ty. The NEA encourages nominations of abroad range of men and women who havebeen significant to the field of jazz, throughvocals and instrumental performance, cre-ative leadership, and education.

The NEA has numerous resources as part ofthe NEA Jazz Masters program, including:

Bios and photos of NEA Jazz•MastersVideo interviews with the artists•Video from past NEA Jazz•Masters Tribute ConcertsPodcasts with NEA Jazz Masters•and other jazz musicians and writersJazz Moments—1-2 minute audio•clips consisting of musical excerptsand short interviews with NEAJazz Masters and other artistsabout the Masters’ music andinfluence on the field.

About the National Endowmentfor the Arts

NEA podcasts and Jazz Moments are available for radio stations to use free of charge via iTunesU and PRX.

For more information on the NEA Jazz Masters and to make a nomination, visitarts.gov/honors/jazz.


About Kennedy Center Jazz

Elizabeth Auclair, Public Affairs SpecialistDon Ball, Assistant Director of Public Affairs—PublicationsPaulette Beete, Social Media ManagerAnn Meier Baker, Director of Music & Opera Natalie Donovan, Assistant Grants Management SpecialistRebecca Gross, Writer/EditorLatonca Harris, Contracting OfficerVictoria Hutter, Assistant Director of Public Affairs—PressAdam Kampe, Media SpecialistJennifer Kareliusson, Division CoordinatorSamra Khawaja, Special Assistant to Director of Public Affairs (Social Media)David Low, Web ManagerMichael Orlove, Artist Communities and Presenting DirectorKatie Patterson, Division SpecialistIndia Pinkney, General CounselJosephine Reed, Media ProducerKatja von Schuttenbach, Jazz SpecialistSarah Weingast, Assistant General Counsel

The National Endowment for the Arts gratefully acknowledges support for the2016 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert from the Doris Duke CharitableFoundation in honor of the NEA's 50th anniversary year.

The National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the support of BroadcastMusic, Inc.® (“BMI®”) in sponsoring the NEA Jazz Masters Awards Dinner.Mike O’Neill, President & CEO, BMICharlie Feldman, Vice President of Writer-Publisher and Industry Relations, BMIDeirdre Chadwick, BMI Foundation President

Kennedy Center Jazz, under the leadership ofArtistic Director Jason Moran, presents leg-endary artists who have helped shape the artform, artists who are emerging on the jazzscene, and innovative multidisciplinary proj-ects in hundreds of performances a year. TheKC Jazz Club, launched in 2002 and dubbed“the future of the jazz nightclub” byJazzTimes, hosts many of these artists in anintimate setting, while the Crossroads Club,launched in 2012, is a nightclub dance venue.Annual Kennedy Center jazz events include

the professional development residency pro-gram for young artists, Betty Carter’s JazzAhead; NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, theKennedy Center holiday tradition shared bymillions around the country via broadcast onNPR; and the Mary Lou Williams JazzFestival, created in 1996 by the late Dr. BillyTaylor (Kennedy Center Artistic Director forJazz, 1994–2010). The Center’s jazz con-certs are frequently recorded for futurebroadcast on NPR.

For the National Endowment for the Arts

The 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert will be video-streamed live atarts.gov, Kennedy-Center.org, and NPR.org/Music.

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STAFF FOR THE CONCERT HALL*Mary Jo Ford .......................................Theater ManagerDeborah Glover......................................Box Office TreasurerJerry Cooper........................................................Head UsherRobert P. Tillett,David Langrell,Paul Farabee, Jr.,Crescenda Ramble,Mike Buchman,William DC Valentine............................................Stage Crew

*Represented by ATPAM, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers

The technicians at theKennedy Center are

represented by Local #22I.A.T.S.E. AFL-CIO-CLC,the professional union oftheatrical technicians.

Steinway Piano Gallery is the exclusive area representative of Steinway & Sons and Boston pianos, the official pianos

of the Kennedy Center.

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Documents

The 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert