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NATIONAL 
 ENDOWMENT 
 FOR THE ARTS 
 
 A great nation 
 deserves great art. 
 
 The National Endowment for the Arts is a public 
 agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the 
 arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all 
 Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. 
 Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent 
 agency of the federal government, the Endowment is 
 the nation's largest annual hinder of the arts, bringing 
 great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner 
 cities, and military bases. 
 
National Endowment for the Arts 
 
 America's Highest Honor in Jazz 
 
 2009 Fellows 
 
Credits 
 
 This publication is published by: 
 National Endowment for the Arts 
 Office of Communications 
 Victoria Hutter. Acting Director 
 Don Ball. Publications Manager/Editor 
 
 Designed by: 
 
 Fletcher Design Inc.. Washington DC 
 
 October 2008 
 
 Cover Photo: NEA Jazz Masters (from left) Candido Camero, Joe 
 Wilder, and Paquito D'Rivera perform during the finale of the 
 2008 NEA Jazz Masters awards ceremony and concert in Toronto. 
 Canada. Photo by Tom Pich 
 
 The following reference texts were used in researching biographical 
 information of the Jazz Masters: 
 
 All Music Guide to Jazz by Vladimir Bogdanov. Chris Woodstra, 
 and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Backbeat Books 
 
 American Musicians II by Whitney Balliett, Oxford University 
 Press 
 
 Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather and Ira 
 Gitler. Oxford University Press 
 
 Four Jazz Lives by A.B. Spellman. University of Michigan Press 
 
 Jazz: The Rough Guide by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, and Brian 
 Priestley, Rough Guides 
 
 Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 4th Edition by Richard Cook and 
 Brian Morton, Penguin 
 
 Talking Jazz: An Oral History by Ben Sidran. Da Capo Press 
 
 Voice/TYY: (202) 682-5496 
 
 For individuals who axe deaf or hard-of-hearing. 
 
 Individuals who do not use conventional print may contact the Arts 
 Endowment's Office for AccessAbility to obtain this publication in 
 an alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532 
 
 National Endowment for the Arts 
 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 
 Washington. DC 20506-0001 
 (202) 682-5400 
 
 Additional copies of this publication can be obtained for free by 
 contacting the NEA Web site: www.arts.gov. 
 
 '•&»• 
 
 (*) This publication was printed on recycled paper. 
 
A Message from the Chairman 
 
 In 2003 the NEA made the historic decision to increase 
 significantly its support for the great America art form of jazz. 
 An ambitious new national initiative was created that eventually 
 included touring, festivals, television, radio, recordings, and school 
 programs. At the heart of this national initiative was the NEA Jazz 
 Masters Fellowships, the nation's highest honor in jazz. First created in 1982 as a 
 lifetime achievement award, the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships were well respected in 
 the jazz world but little know outside it. The plan was to heighten the recognition of 
 this singular award to make it worthy of the great art and artists it honored. 
 
 Six years later, I am proud to report that the program has been enormously 
 successful. It has brought jazz to millions of Americans in all 50 states — best of all, 
 introducing the art to seven million students through the NEA Jazz in the Schools 
 curriculum which the NEA developed in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center. 
 Meanwhile hundreds of Jazz Moments radio features are broadcast daily on SIRIUS 
 XM Radio, reaching millions of adult listeners many times a day. 
 
 But most important, we honor the artists themselves through the NEA Jazz Masters 
 award. By doubling the number of annual recipients, we also celebrate the breadth of 
 talent in this distinctively American tradition. 
 
 The NEA Jazz Masters constitute an artistic legion of honor. These living legends 
 embody the best of our nation's creative culture. As NEA chairman, it is hard for me to 
 describe the extent of my pleasure and pride to see these master musicians recognized 
 officially by their nation in their own lifetime. 
 
 The NEA's investment in jazz has influenced other institutions. The United States 
 Department of State, for example, recently bestowed its first individual Benjamin 
 Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy to Dave Bruebeck in honor of his legendary 
 work in the Jazz Ambassadors program. This award reminds us that jazz musicians 
 are more than just performers. They are cultural ambassadors, introducing America's 
 music to new audiences around the world. 
 
 We welcome the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters to their rightful place among the 
 immortals of America's hottest — and coolest — musical tradition. 
 
 <Q&AAC\ H^Ho. 
 
 Dana Gioia 
 
 Chairman 
 
 National Endowment for the Arts 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters iii 
 
NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson leads his 
 orchestra at the 2005 NEA Jazz Masters 
 awards concert in Long Beach, California. 
 
 Photo by Vance Jacobs 
 
 Table of Contents 
 
 A Brief History of the Program 1 
 
 Program Overview 3 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 5 
 
 George Benson 6 
 
 Jimmy Cobb 7 
 
 Lee Konitz 8 
 
 Toots Thielemans 9 
 
 Snooky Young 10 
 
 Rudy Van Gelder 11 
 
 NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony 12 
 
 1982-2009 NEA Jazz Masters 13 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries 
 
 http://archive.org/details/neajazzmastersam2008nati 
 
NEA Jazz Master Slide Hampton takes a solo at the 2007 NEA Jazz Masters awards concert in New York City. 
 
 A Brief History of the Program 
 
 A melding of African and European music 
 and cultures, jazz was born in America, 
 a new musical form that used rhythm, 
 improvisation, and instruments in unique and 
 exciting ways. Jazz came to prominence in the early 
 20th century on the dance floors of major cultural 
 centers such as Kansas City and New York. With the 
 advent of sound recording techniques, the increased 
 availability of affordable gramophones, and the 
 rise of radio as popular entertainment, jazz quickly 
 conquered the country. By the 1930s and 1940s, 
 jazz had become America's dance music, selling 
 albums and performance tickets at dizzying rates 
 and sweeping millions of fans in foreign countries 
 off their feet. 
 
 By the 1950s, however, with the advent of rock 
 and roll and the tilt in jazz toward bebop rather 
 than the more popular swing, jazz began a decline 
 in its popularity. It was still seen as an important 
 and exciting art form, but by an increasingly 
 smaller audience. Jazz was still being exported 
 overseas, though, especially by Voice of America 
 radio broadcasts and U.S. Department of State 
 goodwill tours that featured such musicians as Dizzy 
 Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Dave Brubeck. 
 
 By the 1960s, when the National Endowment 
 for the Arts (NEA) was created by Congress, jazz 
 album sales were down and jazz performances 
 were becoming more difficult to find. Large 
 dance orchestras disbanded for lack of work, and 
 musicians found themselves in stiff competition 
 for fewer and fewer gigs. The music, starting with 
 bebop and into hard bop and free jazz, became more 
 cerebral and less dance-oriented, focusing on freeing 
 up improvisation and rhythm. It was moving to a 
 new artistic level, and if this high quality were to be 
 maintained, it would need some assistance. 
 
 NEA assistance to the jazz field began in 1969, 
 with its first grant in jazz awarded to pianist/ 
 composer George Russell (who would later go on 
 to receive an NEA Jazz Master award in 1990), 
 allowing him to work on his groundbreaking book, 
 Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, 
 the first major academic work in jazz. In a decade, 
 jazz funding went from $20,000 in 1970 to $1.5 
 million in 1980 to more than $2.8 million in 2005, 
 supporting a wide range of activities, including jazz 
 festivals and concert seasons, special projects such 
 as Dr. Billy Taylor's Jazzmobile in New York and 
 the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz's Jazz Sports 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
program, educational jazz programming on National 
 Public Radio, artists-in-schools programs, and 
 research. 
 
 While the NEA recognized and acted on the 
 need for public funding for jazz, the pioneers of the 
 field were rapidly aging, and often dying without 
 the appropriate recognition of their contribution 
 to this great American art form. Louis Armstrong 
 and Duke Ellington, two of the giants of jazz in 
 terms of both musicianship and composition, both 
 died in the early 1970s without the importance of 
 their contributions being fully acknowledged and 
 appreciated. 
 
 In an effort to nationally recognize outstanding 
 jazz musicians for their lifelong achievements and 
 mastery of jazz, the Arts Endowment in 1982 created 
 the American Jazz Masters Fellowships — now the 
 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships — given to musicians 
 who have reached an exceptionally high standard of 
 achievement in this very specialized art form. 
 
 In addition to the recognition, the NEA included 
 a monetary award of $20,000 for each fellowship. 
 The rigors of making a living in the jazz field are 
 well documented. Jazz is an art form to which 
 the free market has not been kind. Despite their 
 unparalleled contributions to American art, many 
 jazz greats worked for years just barely scraping by. 
 The monetary award often has provided a much 
 needed infusion of income. 
 
 That such recognition was long overdue is 
 exemplified by Thelonious Sphere Monk, one of the 
 great American composers and musicians. Monk 
 was nominated for an NEA Jazz Master Fellowship 
 in the first year of the program, but unfortunately 
 passed away before the announcement was made 
 (the fellowship is not awarded posthumously). 
 The three who were chosen certainly lived up to 
 the criteria of artistic excellence and significance 
 to the art form: Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, and 
 Sun Ra. The panel in that first year included stellar 
 jazz musicians themselves, including some future 
 NEA Jazz Masters: trumpeter Donald Byrd and 
 saxophonists Frank Foster, Chico Freeman, Jackie 
 McLean, and Archie Shepp. In addition, legendary 
 Riverside record company co-owner and producer 
 Orrin Keepnews was on the panel. 
 
 From that auspicious beginning, the program has 
 continued to grow and provide increased awareness 
 of America's rich jazz heritage. In 2004, the number 
 of fellowships awarded increased, and a new award 
 was created for those individuals who helped 
 to advance the appreciation of jazz. In 2005, the 
 advocacy award was designated the A. B. Spellman 
 NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy in 
 honor of A. B. Spellman, a jazz writer, accomplished 
 
 poet, innovative arts administrator, and former 
 NEA Deputy Chairman, who has dedicated much 
 of his life to bringing the joy and artistry of jazz 
 to all Americans. Additionally, the amount of the 
 fellowship was increased to $25,000. 
 
 In 2005, Chairman Dana Gioia greatly expanded 
 the NEA Jazz Masters initiative to include several new 
 programs in addition to the fellowships. A two-CD 
 anthology of NEA Jazz Masters' music was produced 
 by Verve Music Group. NEA Jazz Masters on Tour, 
 sponsored by Verizon, brought jazz musicians to 
 all 50 states throughout 2005-07 for performances, 
 community events, and educational programs. 
 This led to a new program, NEA Jazz Masters Live, 
 which brings these jazz legends to selected events for 
 performances, master classes, and lectures. A new 
 arts education component was created in partnership 
 with Jazz at Lincoln Center and with support from the 
 Verizon Foundation, NEA Jazz in the Schools. This 
 educational resource for high school teachers of social 
 studies, U.S. history, and music includes a five-unit, 
 Web-based curriculum and DVD toolkit that explores 
 jazz as an indigenous American art form and as a 
 means to understand U.S. history (more information 
 can be found at www.neajazzintheschools.org). New 
 broadcasting programming was created, such as 14 
 one-hour shows on NEA Jazz Masters featured on the 
 public radio series Jazz Profiles, hosted by NEA Jazz 
 Master Nancy Wilson, and Jazz Moments, radio shorts 
 for broadcast on SIRIUS XM Radio. 
 
 Each passing year brings increased international 
 recognition of the NEA Jazz Masters awards as the 
 nation's highest honor for outstanding musicianship 
 in the field of jazz. The recipients of the NEA Jazz 
 Masters award cover all aspects of the music: from 
 boogie-woogie (Cleo Brown) to swing (Count Basie, 
 Andy Kirk, Jay McShann); from bebop (Dizzy 
 Gillespie, Kenny Clarke) to Dixieland (Danny 
 Barker); from free jazz (Ornette Coleman, Cecil 
 Taylor) to cool jazz (Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Ahmad 
 Jamal); and everywhere in between. What ties all 
 these styles together is a foundation in the blues, 
 a reliance on group interplay, and unpredictable 
 improvisation. Throughout the years, and in all the 
 different styles, these musicians have demonstrated 
 the talent, creativity, and dedication that make them 
 NEA Jazz Masters. 
 
 Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2007, the 
 award continues to offer a solid platform for raising 
 worldwide awareness of America's rich jazz heritage 
 by not only honoring those who have dedicated their 
 lives to the music, but also by leading the way in 
 efforts encouraging the preservation and nourishing 
 of jazz as an important musical form for generations 
 to come. 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
2008 NEA Jazz Masters Gunther Schuller, Quincy Jones, and Candido Camera 
 at the NEA Jazz Masters panel discussion in Toronto, Canada. 
 
 Program Overview 
 
 The National Endowment for the Arts 
 recognizes the importance of jazz as one 
 of the great American art forms of the 
 20th century. As part of its efforts to honor those 
 distinguished artists whose excellence, impact, and 
 significant contribution in jazz have helped keep 
 this important tradition and art form alive, the Arts 
 Endowment annually awards NEA Jazz Masters 
 Fellowships, the highest honor that our nation 
 bestows upon jazz musicians. Each fellowship 
 award is $25,000. 
 
 The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is a lifetime 
 achievement award. The criteria for the fellowships 
 are musical excellence and significance of the 
 nominees' contributions to the art of jazz. The Arts 
 Endowment honors a wide range of styles with 
 awards currently given in the categories of rhythm 
 instrumentalist, solo instrumentalist, vocalist, 
 keyboardist, arranger/composer, and bandleader. 
 There is also a special award given to a non- 
 musician, the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master 
 Award for Jazz Advocacy, which is awarded to an 
 individual who has made major contributions to the 
 
 appreciation, knowledge, and advancement of jazz. 
 
 Fellowships are awarded to living artists on the 
 basis of nominations from the general public and 
 the jazz community. The recipients must be citizens 
 or permanent residents of the United States. An 
 individual may submit only one nomination each 
 year, and nominations are made by submitting 
 a one-page letter detailing the reasons that the 
 nominated artist should receive an NEA Jazz 
 Masters Fellowship. Nominations submitted to the 
 Arts Endowment by the deadline are reviewed by 
 an advisory panel of jazz experts and at least one 
 knowledgeable layperson. Panel recommendations 
 are forwarded to the National Council on the 
 Arts, which then makes recommendations to the 
 Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. 
 Nominations remain active for five years, being 
 reviewed annually during this period. 
 
 Information on submitting a nomination and on 
 the NEA Jazz Masters award is available on the NEA 
 Web site: www.arts.gov. 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 

 2009 NEA Jazz Master 
 Toots Thielemans 
 
 ^H W A ^ 
 
 2009 Fellows 
 
 50L0 INSTRUMENTALIST 
 RHYTHM INSTRUMENTALIST 
 
 SOLO INSTRUMENTALIST 
 
 SOLO INSTRUMENTALIST 
 
 SOLO INSTRUMENTALIST 
 
 A.B. SPELLMAN NEA JAZZ 
 MASTERS AWARD FOR 
 JAZZ ADVOCACY 
 
 NOTES: 
 
 f 'i-^rvj 
 
 Names in bold in biographies denote NEA Jazz Masters awardees. 
 
 All recordings listed in Selected Discography are under the artist's name unless otherwise noted. 
 
 Years listed under recordings in Selected Discography denote the years the recordings were 
 made. 
 
Benson 
 
 Born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, PA 
 
 GUITARIST VOCALIST 
 
 Appreciated as both a musician and performer, 
 George Benson plays the dual role of expert 
 improviser and vibrant entertainer. Rounding out 
 his singular approach with a strong sense of swing, he is 
 considered one of the greatest guitarists in jazz. 
 
 Benson began his career as a guitarist working the 
 corner pubs of his native Pittsburgh. Legendary jazz 
 guitarist Wes Montgomery came across Benson early 
 on, complimenting him and urging him to continue his 
 already impressive work. In the early 1960s, Benson 
 apprenticed with organist Brother Jack McDuff; he found 
 the organist's gritty swing a fertile ground for the sly, 
 confident, and adventurous guitar lines that earned him 
 an early reputation as a master. 
 
 By the time 
 legendary talent scout 
 John Hammond signed 
 Benson to Columbia, 
 the guitarist's name 
 was becoming known 
 throughout the 
 industry. In the late 
 1960s he sat in on 
 Miles Davis' Miles in 
 the Sky sessions, and 
 also put a personal 
 spin on the tunes from 
 the Beatles' Abbey 
 Hoari. Joining the CTI 
 
 4? 
 
 ^DDISCOo^ 
 
 J/ / 
 
 > 
 
 The New Boss Guitar of George Benson, 
 Prestige/OJC, 1964 
 
 The Other Side of Abbey Road, A&M, 1 969 
 
 Weekend in LA., Warner Brothers, 1977 
 
 Tenderly, Warner Brothers, 1989 
 
 Absolute Benson, GRP, 1999 
 
 label in 1970, Benson was united with many of jazz's 
 finest instrumentalists — including Stanley Turrentine, 
 Ron Carter, and Freddie Hubbard — and released classic 
 albums, such as Beyond the Blue Horizon. 
 
 Despite his success, Benson's desire to combine his 
 singing and guitar playing was blocked until he worked 
 with music producer Tommy LiPuma. The result was 
 Breezin', the first jazz record to attain platinum sales. 
 The 1976 blockbuster, his first in a long association 
 with Warner Brothers Records, brought Benson to the 
 attention of the general public with such hits as his soulful 
 rendition of Leon Russell's "This Masquerade," which 
 featured the guitarist scatting along with his solo break. He 
 followed up with many pop hits, including a sultry version 
 of "On Broadway" and the irresistible "Give Me the Night" 
 (produced by Quincy Jones). 
 
 In the mid-1990s Benson followed LiPuma to the GRP 
 label where they released three well-received albums 
 highlighting Benson's vocal and guitar prowess. In 2006, 
 Benson and vocalist/songwriter Al Jarreau released Givin' 
 It Up with Benson's current label, Concord Music Group. 
 
 Benson has won ten Grammy Awards, thrilling 
 many crowds around the world with his performances, 
 including recent appearances at Malaysia's 50th Merdeka 
 celebration and the Mawazine Festival in Morocco. 
 
 6 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
DRUMMER EDUCATOR 
 
 III 
 
 Born January 20, 1929 in Washington, DC 
 
 An accomplished accompanist 
 and soloist, Jimmy Cobb is best 
 known for being a key part of 
 Miles Davis' first great quintet in the 
 late 1950s. 
 
 Largely self-taught, Cobb spent 
 his younger days in his hometown 
 Washington, DC, playing engagements 
 with Charlie Rouse, Frank Wess, and 
 Billie Holiday, among others. He left 
 DC in 1950, joining Earl Bostic, with 
 whom he cut his first recordings, before 
 finding work with Dinah Washington, 
 Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Dizzy 
 Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley. 
 In 1957, Cobb began playing with 
 Miles Davis, eventually becoming part of a formidable 
 rhythm section that included Paul Chambers on bass 
 and Wynton Kelly on piano. Between 1957 and 1963, 
 Cobb played (along with saxophonists John Coltrane 
 and Cannonball Adderley) on some of Davis' most noted 
 records: Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Someday My 
 Prince Will Come, Live at Carnegie Hall, Live at the 
 Blackhawk, and Porgy and Bess, among others. In 1963, 
 Cobb left the Davis band to continue working as a trio 
 with Chambers and Kelly. The trio disbanded in the late 
 1960s, and Cobb worked with singer Sarah Vaughan for 
 nine years. He then freelanced for the next 20 years 
 with artists such as Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, Ricky 
 
 ^DDISCO^ 
 
 Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, 
 Columbia, 1959 
 
 Wes Montgomery, Smokin'at 
 the Half Note, Verve, 1965 
 
 Joe Henderson, Four!, Verve, 1968 
 
 Marsalis Music Honor Series, 
 Marsalis Music/Rounder, 2005 
 
 Cobb's Corner, Chesky, 2006 
 
 Ford, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George 
 Coleman, David "Fathead" Newman, 
 and Nancy Wilson. 
 
 Cobb released his first CD (and 
 music video) for the A&E network in 
 1986 that featured Freddie Hubbard, 
 Gregory Hines, and Bill Cosby. In 
 2006, Cobb was produced by Branford 
 Marsalis for the Marsalis Music 
 Honor Series, recorded around Cobb's 
 75th birthday. In the last few years, 
 he has released several albums as 
 a leader — New York Time, Cobb's 
 Corner, and West of 5th — playing with 
 stalwart musicians such as pianists 
 Cedar Walton and Hank Jones and 
 relative newcomers such as bassist Christian McBride and 
 trumpeter Roy Hargrove. 
 
 Jimmy Cobb continues to play music in New York City, 
 where he lives with his wife and two children. He now 
 leads the Jimmy Cobb "So What" Band, celebrating 50 
 years of Kind of Blue and the music of Miles Davis, and 
 travels the international circuit as he approaches his 80th 
 birthday. Cobb currently teaches master classes at Stanford 
 University's Jazz Workshop and has taught at The New 
 School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the University of 
 Greensboro in North Carolina, the International Center for 
 the Arts at San Francisco State University in California, 
 and international educational institutions. 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
Koiiitz 
 
 Bom October 13, 1927 in Chicago, IL 
 
 SAXOPHONIST COMPOSER EDUCATOR 
 
 Lee Konitz is one of the more distinctive alto 
 saxophonists in jazz since Charlie Parker (and one 
 of the few that did not outright copy Parker's style), 
 pairing his individual style and voice with a strong sense 
 of innovation. 
 
 Born to an Austrian father and a Russian mother in 
 Chicago, Konitz as a youth studied clarinet, then alto 
 saxophone with various teachers. 
 In the early 1940s, Konitz met noted 
 pianist Lennie Tristano, under whose 
 influence and tutelage Kontiz's mature 
 style in jazz began to emerge. His 
 recordings with Tristano include 
 the 1949 releases "Intuition" and 
 "Digression" — precursors to the "free 
 jazz" movement of the 1960s. 
 
 In 1947, Konitz played with the 
 Claude Thornhill Orchestra, meeting 
 Gil Evans, who was then arranging 
 for Thornhill. Evans brought Konitz 
 along to participate in Miles Davis' 
 nonet performances and recordings 
 [Birth of the Cool, 1948-50), considered 
 the beginning point for what came to 
 
 tiled "cool jazz." Konitz went on to play with Gerry 
 Mulligan and Chel Baker's influential band and worked 
 from 1952-53 in Stan Kenton's big band. From then on, he 
 mainly led his own small groups, occasionally touring 
 abroad. 
 
 c ^DISCO Gi? 
 
 Subconscious-Lee, Prestige/OJC, 1949-50 
 
 The Lee Konitz Duets, Milestone/OJC, 1967 
 
 The New York Album, Soul Note, 1987 
 
 New Nonet, Omnitone, 2006 
 
 Lee Konitz-Ohad Talmor Big Band, 
 Portology, Omnitone, 2007 
 
 In the early 1960s, as opportunities for performances 
 declined, Konitz withdrew from the music business 
 and took on day work. He continued to develop his 
 unique sound, however, occasionally working with such 
 musicians as Paul Bley, Martial Solal, Charlie Haden, 
 and Brad Mehldau. He also worked as a private teacher, 
 conducting lessons by tape with students worldwide. 
 
 Konitz joined with Warne Marsh, his 
 fellow sideman from early Tristano 
 sessions, to tour Europe and record 
 in 1975-76; he also founded his own 
 nonet and performed regularly during 
 the 1980s. In 1992, Konitz won the 
 prestigious Danish JAZZPAR Prize. 
 
 With his insatiable musical 
 curiosity, Konitz records in a variety 
 of different settings. His later albums 
 include French impressionist music 
 with a string quartet [Lee Konitz &■ 
 The Axis String Quartet Play French 
 Impressionist Music from the 20th 
 Century), work with the Orquestra 
 Jazz de Matosinhos [Portology), and an 
 album with the big band Mark Masters 
 Ensemble [One Day with Lee). Konitz divides his time 
 between residences in the United States and Germany and 
 continues to travel and perform around the globe. 
 
 8 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
HARMONICA PLAYER GUITARIST 
 
 Thielemaiis 
 
 Born April 29, 1922 in Brussels, Belgium 
 
 Harmonica player, guitarist, and whistler Jean 
 Baptiste "Toots" Thielemans has been credited 
 by jazz aficionados as being among the greatest 
 jazz harmonica players of the 20th century, improvising 
 on an instrument more known in folk and blues music. 
 Thielesman is known to audiences young and old, his 
 harmonica heard on the Sesame Street theme and his 
 whistling heard in an "Old Spice" commercial. 
 
 Thielemans learned to play the accordion at the age 
 of three, took up chromatic harmonica at 17, and taught 
 himself to play the guitar. Influenced by Django Reinhardt 
 and Charlie Parker, he became interested in jazz. In 1950, 
 Thielemans toured Europe as a guitarist with the Benny 
 Goodman Sextet. He immigrated to the United States in 
 1952, getting a chance to play with Charlie Parker's All- 
 Stars. His performance so impressed George Shearing 
 that he invited Thielemans into his band, where he stayed 
 until 1959. 
 
 In 1961, Thielemans composed and recorded 
 "Bluesette" using unison whistling and guitar, and ever 
 since has been greatly in demand — particularly for his 
 harmonica and his whistling — on pop records and as a 
 jazz soloist. Thielemans began freelancing, playing and 
 recording with Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, 
 Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Astrud Gilberto, and Elis Regina, 
 among others. He also made prominent appearances on 
 movie soundtracks, notably on The Pawnbroker, Midnight 
 Cowboy, and The Sugarland Express. 
 
 ^ 
 
 C &V BIBLlo^ 
 
 «/> 
 
 Man Bites Harmonica, 
 Riverside/OJC, 1957-58 
 
 Do Not Leave Me, Vintage Jazz, 1 986 
 
 Only Trust Your Heart, Concord Jazz, 1988 
 
 East Coast West Coast, Private Music, 1994 
 
 Toots and Kenny Werner, Verve, 2001 
 
 Thielemans has 
 appeared as a leader of 
 swing and bop quartets 
 on recordings and at 
 international festivals. 
 At the Montreux 
 International Jazz 
 Festival, he recorded as 
 a sideman with Oscar 
 Peterson in 1975, then 
 with Dizzy Gillespie in 
 1980. Thielemans' two- 
 volume Brasil Project was 
 popular in the 1990s and 
 featured top Brazilian 
 musicians. 
 
 A perennial winner of Down Beat readers and critics 
 polls in the category "miscellaneous instruments," 
 Thielemans was called "one of the greatest musicians 
 of our time" by Quincy Jones in 1995. Thielemans has 
 received many awards and titles, including the French 
 "Chevalier des arts et des lettres" honors and honorary 
 doctorates from both universities in the city of Brussels. In 
 2001, Belguim's King Albert II bestowed on him the title 
 "Baron," making him Baron Jean "Toots" Thielemans. 
 
 ^; 
 
 > 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
V*"! 
 
 Young 
 
 Born February 3, 1919 in Dayton, OH 
 
 TRUMPETER 
 
 c$» 
 
 ^DDISCOo^ 
 
 Jimmie Lunceford, 
 1939-1940, Classics, 1939-40 
 
 Count Basie, Kansas City Suite, Roulette, 1960 
 
 Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Live at the 
 Village Vanguard, Solid State, 1967 
 
 Horn of Plenty, Concord Jazz, 1979 
 
 Gerald Wilson, State Street Suite, 
 MAMA Foundation, 1994 
 
 Known for his prowess 
 with the plunger 
 mute, Eugene Edward 
 "Snooky" Young's trumpet 
 playing is most often heard 
 in the context of the big band. 
 For 30 years, he was heard 
 every week night as a member 
 of the Tonight Show orchestra. 
 
 Young began playing 
 the trumpet at five and by 
 his early teens was working 
 in various regional bands. 
 From 1939-1942 he made 
 
 a name for himself as lead trumpeter and soloist in 
 the Jimmie Lunceford band. From 1942 to 1947 Young 
 worked with Les Hite, Benny Carter, and Gerald Wilson, 
 as well as with the Count Basie band, where he replaced 
 trumpet player Ed Lewis. Young led his own band in his 
 hometown of Dayton from 1947 to 1957 and continued to 
 perform periodically with both Lionel Hampton and Basie 
 from the early 1960s. 
 
 Upon leaving Basie in 1962, Young began his longest 
 engagement with a band as a trumpeter for the Doc 
 Severinson band on the Tonight Show. In 1972, he moved 
 
 '♦ 
 
 > 
 
 to Los Angeles when the show relocated to the 
 West Coast, and remained until Johnny Carson 
 left in 1992. 
 
 Young continue to work on other projects 
 as well. He was a founding member of the 
 Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966, 
 and throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he 
 played with a variety of big bands, including on 
 recordings by such jazz greats as Louis Bellson, 
 Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, and 
 Jimmy Smith. Young has worked outside of jazz 
 as well, playing with the rock group the Band 
 on New Year's Eve in 1971 and on the classic 
 1976 blues recording Bobby Bland and B.B. King 
 Together Again. ..Live. 
 
 Young has worked since with several Los Angeles big 
 bands, and has issued three albums under his own name, 
 including Horn of Plenty, which demonstrated his solo 
 gifts as a strong lead trumpeter. Young has appeared as 
 a soloist at jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland; The 
 Hague, Holland; Antibes, France; and Concord, California. 
 His work has appeared on numerous soundtracks as well, 
 including The Color Purple. He continues to perform and 
 tour with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the 
 Gerald Wilson Orchestra. 
 
 10 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
RECORDING ENGINEER 
 
 Van Gelder 
 
 Born November 2, 1924 in Jersey City, NJ 
 
 Considered by many the greatest recording engineer 
 in jazz, Rudy Van Gelder has recorded practically 
 every major jazz musician of the 1950s and 1960s on 
 thousands of albums. 
 
 Van Gelder became involved with amateur radio 
 as a teenager, which led to his interest in microphones 
 and electronics. Since recording consoles were not 
 then manufactured commercially, he created his own 
 equipment and set up a studio in his parents' living room 
 in Hackensack, New Jersey. An optometrist by day, Van 
 Gelder began recording local jazz musicians in his free 
 time. 
 
 In 1953, saxophonist Gil Melle introduced Van Gelder 
 to Blue Note founder Alfred Lion, beginning a 14-year 
 
 association with the 
 label. He recorded 
 practically every 
 session that Blue Note 
 produced during that 
 time period, from 
 obscure sessions like 
 Jutta Hipp with Zoot 
 Sims in 1956 to the 
 popular Maiden Voyage 
 by Herbie Hancock 
 in 1965. Van Gelder's 
 notable recordings 
 helped establish Blue 
 
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 ^PDISCOO^ 
 
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 Sonny Rollins, Volume 2, Blue Note, 1957 
 
 Cannonball Adderley, Somethin' Else, 
 Blue Note, 1958 
 
 Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Prestige/0 JC, 1960 
 
 John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, 
 Impulse!, 1964 
 
 Joe Henderson, Lush Life: The Music 
 of Billy Strayhorn, Verve, 1991 
 
 Note's reputation as an elite jazz label. They also enticed 
 other labels, such as Prestige, Savoy, and Impulse!, to seek 
 out his recording skills. 
 
 In 1959, needing a larger space for Blue Note and his 
 other clients, Van Gelder finally quit his day job and 
 moved his studio to a new facility he built in Englewood 
 Cliffs, New Jersey, where he has remained ever since. He 
 became the house engineer for Creed Taylor's CTI label in 
 the early 1970s. 
 
 The signature Van Gelder sound features a clearly 
 defined separation among the instruments, ensuring 
 that every sonic detail is clear and audible. This was 
 accomplished by the strategic placement of instruments 
 in the studio, though his exact technique has always been 
 a closely guarded secret. Van Gelder's main goal was to 
 create the best mood for the musicians to perform in, 
 and from the results, he seems to have greatly succeeded. 
 Among the timeless recordings made under his aegis are 
 John Coltrane's Blue Train (Blue Note) Miles Davis' Workin' 
 (Prestige), Andrew Hill's Point of Departure (Blue Note), 
 Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay (CTI), and Wayne Shorter 's 
 Speak No Evil (Blue Note). 
 
 Van Gelder still freelances for a variety of labels 
 and since 1999 has been instrumental in the modern 
 remastering of his original recordings — most notably the 
 Blue Note RVG series — with the conversion from analog to 
 digital formats. 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 11 
 
NEA Jazz Masters 
 Award Ceremony 
 
 NEA Jazz Masters events include a luncheon for all attending NEA Jazz 
 Masters (and a group photo), portraits of the new class of honorees, and a 
 special concert and awards ceremony. Below are a few candid moments from 
 the last few years. 
 
 — 
 
 Frank Wess, Gerald Wilson, Jon Hendi 
 
 Photo by Tom Pr 1 - 
 
 Ornette Coleman 
 
 Photo by Katja von Schuttenbach 
 
 R?S 1 
 
 rami 
 
 
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 "VWa)ne9iorK' 
 
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 jeHancoc* 
 iSWertan^** 
 
 David Baker, 
 Freddie Hubbard, 
 James Moody 
 
 Photo by Tom Pich 
 
 ^m 
 
 Jimmy Smith, Kenny 
 
 Burrell, Slide Hampton, 
 
 Paquito D'Rivera 
 
 Photo by Vance Jacobs 
 
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 Chico Hamilton, 
 Roy Haynes 
 
 Photo by Vance Jacobs 
 
 Chick Corea, 
 Roy Haynes, 
 Ron Carter 
 
 Photo by Tom Pich 
 
 M^ 
 
 Hank Jones, Barry Harris, Billy Taylor 
 
 Photo by Tom Pich 
 
 Benny Golson, 
 
 Jimmy Heath, 
 
 Percy Heath 
 
 Photo by Tom Pich 
 
 12 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 
 
1982-2009 
 
 1982 
 
 Roy Eldridge* 
 Dizzy Gillespie* 
 Sun Ra* 
 
 1983 
 
 Count Basie* 
 Kenny Clarke* 
 Sonny Rollins 
 
 1984 
 
 Ornette Coleman 
 Miles Davis* 
 Max Roach* 
 
 1985 
 
 Gil Evans* 
 Ella Fitzgerald* 
 Jo Jones* 
 
 1986 
 
 . Benny Carter* 
 Dexter Gordon* 
 Teddy Wilson* 
 
 1987 
 
 Cleo Brown* 
 Melba Liston* 
 Jay McShann* 
 
 1988 
 
 Art Blakey* 
 Lionel Hampton* 
 Billy Taylor 
 
 1989 
 
 Barry Harris 
 Hank Jones 
 Sarah Vaughan* 
 
 1990 
 
 George Russell 
 Cecil Taylor 
 Gerald Wilson 
 
 1991 
 
 Danny Barker* 
 Buck Clayton* 
 Andy Kirk* 
 Clark Terry 
 
 1992 
 
 Betty Carter* 
 Dorothy Donegan* 
 Sweets Edison* 
 
 * Deceased 
 
 1993 
 
 Jon Hendricks 
 Milt Hinton* 
 Joe Williams* 
 
 1994 
 
 Louie Bellson 
 Ahmad Jamal 
 Carmen McRae* 
 
 1995 
 
 Ray Brown* 
 Roy Haynes 
 Horace Silver 
 
 1996 
 
 Tommy Flanagan* 
 Benny Golson 
 J.J. Johnson* 
 
 1997 
 
 Billy Higgins* 
 Milt Jackson* 
 Anita O'Day* 
 
 1998 
 
 Ron Carter 
 James Moody 
 Wayne Shorter 
 
 1999 
 
 Dave Brubeck 
 Art Farmer* 
 Joe Henderson* 
 
 2000 
 
 David Baker 
 Donald Byrd 
 Marian McPartland 
 
 2001 
 
 John Lewis* 
 Jackie McLean* 
 Randy Weston 
 
 2002 
 
 Frank Foster 
 Percy Heath* 
 McCoy Tyner 
 
 2003 
 
 Jimmy Heath 
 Elvin Jones* 
 Abbey Lincoln 
 
 2004 
 
 Jim Hall 
 Chico Hamilton 
 Herbie Hancock 
 Luther Henderson* 
 Nat Hentoff 
 Nancy Wilson 
 
 2005 
 
 Kenny Burrell 
 Paquito D 'Rivera 
 Slide Hampton 
 Shirley Horn* 
 Jimmy Smith* 
 Artie Shaw* 
 George Wein 
 
 2006 
 
 Ray Barretto* 
 Tony Bennett 
 Bob Brookmeyer 
 Chick Corea 
 Buddy DeFranco 
 Freddie Hubbard 
 John Levy 
 
 2007 
 
 Toshiko Akiyoshi 
 Curtis Fuller 
 Ramsey Lewis 
 Dan Morgenstern 
 Jimmy Scott 
 Frank Wess 
 Phil Woods 
 
 2008 
 
 Candido Camero 
 Andrew Hill* 
 Qutncy Jones 
 Tom McIntosh 
 gunther schuller 
 Joe Wilder 
 
 2009 
 
 George Benson 
 Jimmy Cobb 
 Lee Konitz 
 Toots Thielemans 
 Rudy Van Gelder 
 Snooky Young 
 
 2009 NEA Jazz Masters 13 
 

 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT 
 
 FOR THE ARTS 
 

 

 National Endowment for the Arts 
 
 Washington, DC 20506-0001 
 202.682.5400 
 
 .ot for sale — Available for free at www.arts.gov