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.
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