A Message from the Chairman

With the class of 2008, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters initiative has reached a new milestone -- 100 members of this distinguished group. Nominated by the public, reviewed by a panel of their peers, these esteemed artists have been recognized for their enormous achievements in this American-born music and awarded the country’s highest honor in jazz.

As the growing attendance at the International Association for Jazz Education’s annual conference attests, there is still strong interest in playing, creating, and enjoying this music. Every year, new musicians start careers in jazz that could one day lead them to being named NEA Jazz Masters.

To assist in this cultivation of one of our country’s greatest artistic inventions, the NEA Jazz Masters program developed an educational component in 2005: NEA Jazz in the Schools. Developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and with support from the Verizon Foundation, NEA Jazz in the Schools is an educational resource for high school teachers, either as a DVD toolkit or an online curriculum. More than six million students have benefited from the program so far.

Nothing replaces hearing -- and seeing -- jazz performed live, however, and the NEA continues to help organizations presenting jazz concerts across the country. After two years of bringing NEA Jazz Masters on Tour to all 50 states for performances and educational activities (sponsored by Verizon), the NEA is now supporting a series of presentations at jazz festivals that include performances, educational activities, and/or speaking engagements by NEA Jazz Masters. As with the first phase of NEA Jazz Masters on Tour, the program is administered in partnership with regional arts organization Arts Midwest.

In keeping with our mission to increase access to the arts, the NEA is supporting radio, television, and online programming -- including Ramsey Lewis’s Legends of Jazz television program -- that highlight our NEA Jazz Masters. At the same time, XM Satellite Radio is airing on multiple channels, many times a day, nearly a hundred Jazz Moments produced by the Arts Endowment and featuring NEA Jazz Masters. (A compilation of some of these Jazz Moments is included in this publication on an audio CD for your enjoyment.)

The National Endowment for the Arts continues to support and expand the NEA Jazz Masters initiative because preserving this nation’s jazz legacy -- not just for this generation but for future generations -- is important. It may well be argued that jazz is America’s most respected artistic export, revered around the world. The NEA is proud to honor these distinguished musicians for their work in the jazz field and for their part in contributing to our nation’s cultural heritage.

Dana Gioia
Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506