Linda May Han Oh, Kurt Elling Among Jazz Journalist Association’s 2019 JJA Jazz Award Winners

​Winners of the 24th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards announced their picks for the 2019 JJA Jazz Awards. All awards will be distributed this summer. Congratulations to MWI’s Linda May Han Oh and Kurt Elling.

[List of 2019 Nominees]

2019 WINNERS IN JAZZ MUSIC AND RECORDING

Lifetime Achievement in Jazz: Ahmad Jamal

Jazz Musician of the Year: Wayne Shorter

Up-and-coming Musician of the Year: Linda May Han Oh

Composer of the Year: Wayne Shorter

Arranger of the Year: Maria Schneider

Record of the Year: West Side Story Reimagined
Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band (Jazzheads)

Historical Record of the Year:
Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album, John Coltrane (Impulse!/Verve)

Record Label of the Year: ECM

Male Vocalist of the Year: Kurt Elling

Female Vocalist of the Year: Cécile McLorin Salvant

Large Ensemble of the Year: Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band

Mid-sized Ensemble of the Year: Wayne Shorter Quartet

Trumpeter of the Year: Ingrid Jensen

Trombonist of the Year: Wycliffe Gordon

Multi-Reeds Player of the Year: Scott Robinson

Alto Saxophonist of the Year: Miguel Zénon

Tenor Saxophonist of the Year: Chris Potter

Baritone Saxophonist of the Year: Gary Smulyan

Soprano Saxophonist of the Year: Jane Ira Bloom

Flutist of the Year: Nicole Mitchell

Clarinetist of the Year: Anat Cohen

Guitarist of the Year: Bill Frisell

Pianist of the Year: Kenny Barron

Keyboards Player of the Year: Dr. Lonnie Smith

Bassist of the Year: Linda May Han Oh

Violinist-Violist-Cellist of the Year: Tomeka Reid

Percussionist of the Year: Pedrito Martinez

Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year: Joe Locke

Traps Drummer of the Year: Brian Blade

Player of the Year of Instruments Rare in Jazz: Scott Robinson

2019 WINNERS IN JAZZ JOURNALISM

Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism: John Szwed

John Szwed has written the biographies Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra, So What: The Life of Miles Davis, Billie Holiday: The Musician and The Myth, and Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World, and authored Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Jazz; Crossovers: Essays on Race, Music and Culture; Lovers, and Jazz: An American Story for Jazz at Lincoln Center. He was Louis Armstrong Professor of Jazz, Director of the Center for Jazz Studies, and editor of JazzStudiesOnline.org at Columbia University. He’s written for Epistrophy, The Wire, Jazziz, Pulse, and The Village Voice (1979-2009), and was the music critic for Terry Gross’s, Fresh Air (1980-1982).  Szwed is editor of the Jazz Perspectives Book Series, University of Michigan Press, has produced records for Evidence and Mixtery, and was awarded a Grammy in 2005.

More at JJA Jazz Awards