Friday, October 30, 2015

USA: Mack Avenue Records Congratulates 2016 NEA Jazz Master Gary Burton on Receiving the Nation's Highest Honor in Jazz

Mack Avenue Records Congratulates
2016 NEA Jazz Master Gary Burton on
Receiving the Nation's Highest Honor in Jazz

2016 NEA Jazz Masters to be Honored with 
Free Concert at John F. Kennedy Center 
  Photo Credit: Jimmy Katz

The NEA Jazz Masters award is the highest honor that our nation bestows on a jazz musician and includes a cash award of $25,000 and an award ceremony and celebratory concert, among other activities. As part of the National Endowment for the Arts' 50th anniversary events, the annual NEA Jazz Masters celebration will take place in on April 4, 2016 in the nation's capital in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  
The National Endowment for the Arts will honor four jazz leaders with the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters award for their significant accomplishments in the field. This year's honorees range from fiery saxophonists who cut their teeth with the legendary John Coltrane, to a vibraphonist who reshaped the direction of jazz by introducing rock elements, to one who has dedicated her life to assisting jazz musicians in need.

Legendary vibraphonist, bandleader and educator, Gary Burton, was one of the progenitors of jazz fusion in the late 1960s. His four-mallet technique on the vibraphone gave the instrument a new musical vocabulary in jazz and a fuller, more piano-like sound than the traditional two-mallet approach. Burton steps into the role alongside the other 2016 honorees: musician's advocate, Wendy Oxenhorn, and saxophonists/composers Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp.  

NEA Jazz Master awards are bestowed on living individuals on the basis of nominations from the public including the jazz community. The NEA encourages nominations of a broad range of men and women who have been significant to the field of jazz, through vocals, instrumental performance, creative leadership, and education.

A free concert honoring the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters will be presented at 8:00pm on Monday, April 4, 2016, at the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall and also available in a live video stream at arts.gov, Kennedy-Center.org, and NPR.org/Music. In addition, as a way of expanding opportunities for the public to engage with the artists and their music, the celebration will include other activities April 2-5, such as moderated panel discussions and listening parties at NPR headquarters in Washington, DC, and educational opportunities for local DC students, which will feature some of the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters. More details on these events, including how to obtain tickets for the April 4 concert, will be announced in early 2016.
 
For more information on Gary Burton, please visit: GaryBurton.com

For more information on The National Endowment for the Arts, please visit: Arts.org


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DL Media  ·  610-667-0501
Maureen McFadden · maureen@dlmediamusic.com

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