Justin V

I haven't heard any of his leader dates, but I'm always impressed by the elegance and clarity of his playing when I hear one of his sideman appearances. Here's wishing him a happy birthday.

Jennifer Leitham

Congratulations!

Some others worthy of recognition: Larry WIllis Stanley Cowell Charles Tolliver

No, thank you. No they don't announce it until June. This link from November 4, 2004 (already posted above) reports on a gala event from the day before announcing the 2005 masters. Shaw died the following month on December 30th, although it was before the official award ceremony that January.

Artie Shaw died in December 2004 and was named a Jazz Master the month before. Sarah Vaughan was named a Jazz Master in 1989 and died in 1990.

I have been biting my lip for lack of a Roscoe Mitchell mention and am now startled to see my name mentioned. Dang! As mentioned in my original post, my list wasn't meant to be exhaustive. There's nothing to bite your lip about; if you feel that anyone deserving has been omitted, mention them. I figured that someone more familiar with Roscoe Mitchell's work would suggest him. If the Marsalis family can be recognized as a group, it seems that they should have recognized the AEC while Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors were still alive. The official criteria, as listed on the NEA site, are: "Fellowships are awarded to living individuals on the basis of nominations from the public including the music community. Nominees must demonstrate a significant contribution to the art form through their publicly recognized and accessible body of work in the field of jazz. The recipients must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Posthumous nominations or awards will not be considered. Individuals who have previously received a NEA lifetime honor award (National Heritage Fellowship, Jazz Masters Fellowship, or an Opera Honor) are not eligible." That means that David S. Ware is ineligible, but I'm not sure that they would've ever gotten around to honoring him, unfortunately. I emailed the NEA contact person and asked about Paul Bley. I was told that the nomination list is confidential and that the nomination of a musician who has already been nominated would act as a re-nomination, extending the original nomination beyond its initial five years. Another candidate: Henry Threadgill. .

This JazzTimes article refers to Holland moving to the Woodstock area in the early '70s. Even if he isn't a citizen, I'm assuming that he'd at least be a permanent resident.

I caught Eric Alexander and Harold Mabern last night.

Good candidates, Steve. I can't believe that I omitted some of them, particularly Andrew Cyrille, who has to be one of the greatest living drummers. How long has Bley lived in the US? Since the '50s or '60s, I presume. According to NEA's page, "the recipients must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States," which I'm assuming Bley is. It's worth noting that Toots Thielemans, who is deservedly an NEA Jazz Master, became a US citizen in 1957. It seems that anyone can nominate one person a year, and nominations remain active for 5 years. Perhaps one of our in-house journalists, or anyone else for that matter, could further the cause of a deserving musician.

With the announcement of the 2014 class, I looked at the list of NEA Jazz Masters. While I was pleased to see that Andrew Hill was recognized, I was extremely disappointed and shocked to see that Sam Rivers and Paul Motian weren't. I thought that it'd be interesting to discuss living musicians who deserve to be recognized as NEA Jazz Masters. Although I will likely think of many more musicians as soon as I post this, my list isn't meant to be exhaustive. Here are but a few deserving musicians, listed by instrument: Saxophone George Coleman Odeon Pope Billy Harper Joe McPhee Charles McPherson Sonny Simmons Trumpet Joe McPhee (again) Bobby Bradford Tom Harrell Trombone Julian Priester Piano Paul Bley Harold Mabern Richard Wyands Steve Kuhn Carla Bley Ran Blake Vibraphone Gary Burton Bass Cecil McBee Buster Williams Henry Grimes Rufus Reid Reggie Workman Bob Cranshaw Dave Holland Steve Swallow Drums Mickey Roker Billy Hart Donald Bailey Joe Chambers Barry Altschul Victor Lewis EDIT: I've added a few whom I should've listed, but I'm trying to resist the urge to keep adding more, as I know that others will likely mention them. I've also removed Joe Wilder's name because, as Mark Stryker correctly pointed out, Wilder was recognized in 2008.

Coincidentally, I was just talking with Harold Mabern (speaking of master musicians deserving of wider recognition...) about Richard Davis some last night. Although musicians and aficionados seem to appreciate Davis, it's fantastic that he's being acknowledged for his contributions to the music in such a public way. Congratulations to Richard Davis and the rest of the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters! EDIT: I started about musicians who deserve to be recognized as NEA Jazz Masters. Although I can't argue with Jarrett being recognized as an NEA Jazz Master, it's baffling that Paul Bley isn't yet one...

It was the Moutin Reunion Quartet with Jean-Michel Pilc and Rick Margitza last night.

Wow. RIP to a fine actor.

I like his Straight Up disc with Christian McBride and Brian Blade. I haven't heard any of his more commercial work.

It'd been years since I'd listened to it, but this thread led me to pull out Buddy Rich's Blues Caravan, which is a fine record that I shouldn't have neglected for so long. I also enjoy Most's playing on Frank Strazzeri's Frank's Blues, a record that seems to fly under the radar. RIP.

Half Note released Enfant Terribles by Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Gary Peacock and Joey Baron in September. Although it was originally slated for release earlier this year, Half Note is also releasing a Randy Brecker album in October.

The Canadian clarinetist, composer and arranger is 90 today. Although he recorded for Verve in the '50s and has been very active as a performer and educator in Canada, it seems that he doesn't get much recognition in the States. Here's wishing a happy birthday to a wonderful musician.

I caught Kenny Barron and Dave Holland in a duo in Detroit on Friday, and Peter Brotzmann and Joe McPhee in a duo and quartet (with Kent Kessler and Hamid Drake) in Chicago yesterday.

I remember when I first heard Mulgrew Miller on Ron Carter's The Golden Striker. In the liner notes, a caption mistakenly identifies Mulgrew Miller as Russell Malone. I thought to myself that the guitarist's hands were massive. When I discovered that the caption was mistaken, I wasn't surprised to find out that the pianist was the possessor of those hands. Although those massive hands could display great power, it was Miller's incredible sensitivity and versatility that made him such a remarkable musician. I never got to see him perform in person, which is something I will forever regret. I missed him twice in one day at the 2010 Detroit Jazz Festival. I missed his early set with the William Paterson University Jazz Septet because I had just arrived and was waiting at a different stage for another band to start, catching the end of a local group's set. I missed his late set with Wingspan because the weather had caught us unprepared and we were uncomfortably cold, so we went back to Cleveland early. I never could've guessed that I wouldn't have another chance to see him perform. Although he left us way too soon, he leaves behind an extensive discography for us to treasure. I'd like to offer my condolences to his family, friends and fans. Thank you, Mr. Miller.

You'd like Ira Sullivan's Blue Stroll, with Christian, Johnny Griffin, Victor Sproles and Wilbur Campbell. I also enjoy Mike Smith's Unit 7, a Cannonball Adderley tribute. Both are on Delmark.

I'm not very familiar with his work, but he really shines on Joe Newman's At Count Basie's. RIP.

I only recently purchased Seeking and was blown away, so I'm looking forward to hearing this one (and the Tapscott, for that matter!).

That's horrible news. I hope Mr. Miller makes a full and speedy recovery.

I caught Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers last month at Tri-C and was impressed. I'd missed previous opportunities to see him, but he's steadily grown on me over the past few years. I can't help but think that Frisell has to be one of the most distinctive musicians on the scene today. According to Wikipedia, violist Eyvind Kang also plays tuba, which could've been an interesting addition to the group. His arco and pizzicato playing meshed well with the group and makes me wonder why we don't hear more viola in jazz. Drummer Rudy Royston was unpredictable and inventive, matching the leader's excursions into various genres. It seems that Royston's star is on the rise, which comes as no surprise. The highlight for me was when Joe Lovano joined the group for two songs; I'll never get to see the Motian Trio, so it was special to see 2/3 of the trio perform. On to my question: Someone asked Frisell during a Q&A about his first recording, and Frisell replied that it was an album that he did in Denver with a Broncos player (he didn't say the player's name). Frisell said that he's never heard it, but has anyone here heard it?