2022 NEA Jazz Masters; Clarke, Harrison, Hart, Wilson

[Mark Stryker]

In alphabetical order: Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison (jazz advocacy award), Billy Hart, Cassandra Wilson.

I'm especially happy to see Billy Hart included here -- so deserved and an inspired choice. By the same token, Stanley Clarke is a terrible pick (nothing personal, just the wrong guy for THIS award. If I'm Buster Williams or Cecil McBee, neither of whom is yet in the club, I'd be livid). I'm basically cool with the others, though Michael Cuscuna is WAY overdue for the advocacy award and so is Chuck Nessa.

Louis Hayes and Charles McPherson would be sterling picks in 2023, along with Cuscuna and either Williams or McBee -- whichever bassist is left out in 2023 gets in in 2024, along with Chuck.

https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz

Edited July 20, 2021 by Mark Stryker

[JSngry]

Perhaps Stanley Clarke gets the Lifetime Achievement For Unfulfilled Potential Award?

[Mark Stryker]

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Perhaps Stanley Clarke gets the Lifetime Achievement For Unfulfilled Potential Award?

Who are the other nominees in this category? 

[JSngry]

They'll come to light in the forthcoming decades.

[HutchFan]

Hooray for BILLY HART !!!! 

JABALI !!!!

[Milestones]

Clarke is so devoid of accomplishments?  All that work with Chick Corea, several appearances with McCoy Tyner, Rite or Strings, Manhattan Project with Wayne Shorter.  I've not followed him much as a leader, but the trio record with Hiromi is quite respectable.

To my ears, he's rather impressive on both electric and acoustic.

 

[Mark Stryker]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

Clarke is so devoid of accomplishments?  All that work with Chick Corea, several appearances with McCoy Tyner, Rite or Strings, Manhattan Project with Wayne Shorter.  I've not followed him much as a leader, but the trio record with Hiromi is quite respectable.

To my ears, he's rather impressive on both electric and acoustic.

 

It's not that Clarke hasn't done anything of note. But the NEA Jazz Master Award is the country's highest honor in jazz. That's a high bar, and Clarke's contributions to the art form don't come anywhere close to meeting that standard, 

[mjzee]

I’d say Cassandra Wilson is equally nondeserving.

[Ken Dryden]

There has never been any logic to the awarding of NEA Jazz Masters. You think that it would go to deserving artists in their seventies and eighties who have long since proved themselves without any doubts, while they are still with us. I too, am underwhelmed with the choice of Cassandra Wilson.

[mjzee]

5 hours ago, HutchFan said:

Hooray for BILLY HART !!!! 

JABALI !!!!

Absolutely!  Truly a jazz master, and still playing his ass off.

[bertrand]

4 hours ago, mjzee said:

I’d say Cassandra Wilson is equally nondeserving.

She has other reasons to disqualified. It is an award for accomplishments in the field of jazz. As such, she is not deserving as she has aligned herself with individual(s) who have demonstrated hatred or contempt for multiple groups well represented in the Jazz community: African-Americans, Women, Transgenders, Disabled people, the Military and others I am sure. Being a 'jazz master' implicitly suggests you respect all members of these groups and distance yourself from those who don't.

All the more baffling as she is a member of two of these groups.

It is an award, not a job. Your personal views can disqualify you. My two cents.

Edited July 20, 2021 by bertrand

[JSngry]

I have usually liked Cassandra Wilson's records and her singing, often at the same time, from the beginning up until what is so far the end. A very strong, individual voice and concept, and she made more good records for Blue Note than did any vocalist I can think of.

I did see her on a 2018 Austin City Limits and it was pretty harrowing, and not in a good way. Voice sounded like it was going, going...so whatever rabbit hole she's gone down, I just hope her singing voice returns before she comes back out of it.

[kh1958]

I like most of Cassandra Wilson's records, some of them quite a bit. I've seen her live three times over a long period of time, and all concerts were terrific. I even met her once long ago early in her career when she played in a  Deep Ellum club to a tiny audience; she seemed very nice and was certainly beautiful.

Stanley Clarke I haven't followed closely, but the time I saw him play with McCoy Tyner was great. And the time I heard him leading a band was also quite good.

Billy Hart is a great drummer.

Donald Harrison, most recently I've seen a couple times with Lonnie Smith and also with the Cookers. A fine musician.

It seems like a perfectly reasonable list of winners to me. Maybe not the best list possible (Donald Harrison is no Billy Harper), but all four are master musicians.

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by kh1958

[Milestones]

Does anyone know how many people have been awarded as NEA Jazz Master?

[bertrand]

I am pretty sure there is a full listing on their website.

[Dub Modal]

13 hours ago, Milestones said:

Does anyone know how many people have been awarded as NEA Jazz Master?

Check this out: https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/list

Winners get $25K and they put on a concert. Would love to see Hart live. 

Of note, and correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like anyone can nominate artists for this. I can't find who actually votes on winners though. 

[AaronG]

22 hours ago, bertrand said:

She has other reasons to disqualified. It is an award for accomplishments in the field of jazz. As such, she is not deserving as she has aligned herself with individual(s) who have demonstrated hatred or contempt for multiple groups well represented in the Jazz community: African-Americans, Women, Transgenders, Disabled people, the Military and others I am sure. Being a 'jazz master' implicitly suggests you respect all members of these groups and distance yourself from those who don't.

All the more baffling as she is a member of two of these groups.

It is an award, not a job. Your personal views can disqualify you. My two cents.

Glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. I called her out—not even by name— in a response to Ethan Iverson’s tweet about the award, saying one awardee was undeserving. Iverson’s response was to block me. 🤔 

Nate Chinen pointed out that she aligns with groups that oppose the NEA, but has been supportive of the NEA Jazz Masters. Not sure how that works.

Edited July 21, 2021 by AaronG

[bertrand]

1 hour ago, AaronG said:

Glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. I called her out—not even by name— in a response to Ethan Iverson’s tweet about the award, saying one awardee was undeserving. Iverson’s response was to block me. 🤔 

Nate Chinen pointed out that she aligns with groups that oppose the NEA, but has been supportive of the NEA Jazz Masters. Not sure how that works.

Do not try to apply logic in that parallel world.

Thank you for further confirming that Iverson is a dick.

 

No wait, it actually makes sense. The process works as follows:

1. Take $25K from the NEA.

2. Shut down the NEA.

In that order, not the reverse!

 

[JSngry]

How does one "align with" a group? Is it a question of actually belonging to a group, or is it a question of showing up on a Venn Diagram of shared beliefs? If it's the latter, how much of an intersection is needed before the alignment is considered irrefutable proof?

[AaronG]

12 minutes ago, JSngry said:

How does one "align with" a group? Is it a question of actually belonging to a group, or is it a question of showing up on a Venn Diagram of shared beliefs? If it's the latter, how much of an intersection is needed before the alignment is considered irrefutable proof?

I don’t know. Ask Nate. That’s how he put. Maybe he’s being cautious. I’m just not a fan of someone who “aligns” with people advocating political violence. Certainly she shouldn’t be getting a government grant.

[JSngry]

So...you don't know what it means, but you're against it?

We' re not talking about her actually wanting to refund the NEA are we? We're just assuming that because she's gone down this conspiracy theory bullshit that she's totally opposed to federal funding of the arts? Do we know that are are we just assuming that, that if Person A believes Idea Z and Person B also believes Idea Z , then Person's A & B will then automatically will believe Ideas A-Y?

This whole "alligns" thing...I guess that since I support basic Palestenian rights that I "allign" with Anti Semitism, therefore I want a new holocaust or some stupid illogic like that 

It's a sloppy word if not fleshed out with real/meaningful/provable detail. Sloppy language, sloppy thoughts 

Can the discussion be about what she has actually expressed belief in, and leave the "alignment" to the tire stores and the chiropractors? It's a word that has a real meaning there.

[kh1958]

Taking a quick look at her twitter, it appears that last November she made some tweets that make her sound like she was voting for Trump.  She appears to have retweeted some videos that I don't have the energy or interest to watch, so perhaps they are controversial. I don't see much of interest or controversy since the election.  

[AaronG]

So anything goes if you contribute to jazz.

[jlhoots]

This entire "class", except maybe for Billy, is suspect as qualified for this award IMHO.

[Ken Dryden]

Bob Brookmeyer stated during the event honoring him as a NEA Jazz Master that he thought about "...not accepting the award, because George W. Bush's name was on it." I always found that to be ironic, since President Bush was the one who appointed Dana Gioia, the man who asked for and got more funding for NEA Jazz Masters during his time in that position...

I was present in the auditorium when it happened, so it's not an anecdote I heard from someone else.

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Ken Dryden