Thu, Aug 20 2020 | 5:00 PM
Live Streaming
Watch online Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 5 PM PT (8 PM ET) from arts.gov and sfjazz.org
The National Endowment for the Arts, in collaboration with SFJAZZ, will host a special online-only concert in honor of the 2020 NEA Jazz Masters—Dorthaan Kirk, Bobby McFerrin, Roscoe Mitchell, and Reggie Workman. 2017 NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater will host this premier event coordinated by Music Director, drummer, and composer Terri Lyne Carrington, which will include performances by acclaimed jazz musicians—including honorees McFerrin, Mitchell, and Workman—recorded from locations around the country. The 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert is free to watch, and will replace the previously-scheduled concert at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco that was postponed due to COVID-19.
The concert will feature remarks by the 2020 NEA Jazz Masters, as well as Chairman Mary Anne Carter and Randall Kline, Founder and Executive Artistic Director of SFJAZZ. In addition to the musician honorees, performers include Ambrose Akinmusire, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri Lyne Carrington, James Carter, Gerald Clayton, Vincent Davis, Lisa Fischer, Morgan Guerin, Oliver Lake, Christian McBride, Jevon McFerrin, Madison McFerrin, Taylor McFerrin, Kanoa Mendenhall, Junius Paul, and Steve Turre, as well as the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.
The 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert will broadcast at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET from arts.gov and SFJAZZ.org, as well as from the websites for All About Jazz and Jazz Near You, BMI, Inc., the National Endowment for the Humanities, NPR Music, Smithsonian Jazz, Voice of America’s Khmer, Chinese, and Tibetan services, KQED, Jazz Times, and WBGO. The concert will also be available via radio broadcast in California on KCSM 91.1 FM and KALW 91.7 FM, in Washington, DC on WPFW 89.3 FM, and on Sirius XM.
An archive of the concert will be available following the event at arts.gov.
You can join in the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NEAJazz2020.
Honoring
Bobby McFerrin vocalist, composer, conductor, & educator
Roscoe Mitchell saxophonist, composer, & educator
Reggie Workman bassist, composer, educator, & producer
Dorthaan Kirk jazz advocate
MEET THE JAZZ MASTERS
w/ 2020 NEA Jazz Masters and SFJAZZ Founder & Executive Artistic Director Randall Kline
Virtual Reception + Q&A Session
6:10 PM - 7:00 PM PT (9:10 PM - 10:00 PM ET)
Immediately following the 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert, join an in-depth discussion with honorees Dorthaan Kirk, Bobby McFerrin, Roscoe Mitchell, and Reggie Workman, hosted by SFJAZZ Founder & Executive Artistic Director Randall Kline. This live event will include an interactive Q&A session, in which the online audience, through the broadcast's YouTube stream, will be able to ask questions to the 2020 NEA Jazz Masters.
ABOUT THE NEA JAZZ MASTERS
Since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded 157 fellowships to great figures in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, Dianne Reeves, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, and George Wein. The NEA’s website features resources and content about them, including video biographies, and tribute concert videos, podcasts, and more than 350 NEA Jazz Moments audio clips.
For more information about the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters, visit arts.gov/honors/jazz.
PRESS
Pandemic Pivot In Swing: NEA Jazz Masters Concert Goes Online As Fans Embrace The Virtual Tip Jar (Forbes)
A Take Five Toast to the New NEA Jazz Masters: From McFerrin to Mitchell to Workman to Kirk (WBGO)
SFJAZZ Finally Gets To Host NEA Jazz Masters Concert – Online (Mercury News)
Bobby McFerrin
A master vocal improviser, vocalist and composer Bobby McFerrin became a part of popular culture through his 1988 worldwide smash “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” showcasing his virtuoso musicality and four-octave range. He is a ten-time GRAMMY winner who has worked widely in jazz and in classical settings as a performer and conductor.
MoreBobby McFerrin
A master vocal improviser, vocalist and composer Bobby McFerrin became a part of popular culture through his 1988 worldwide smash “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” showcasing his virtuoso musicality and four-octave range. He is a ten-time GRAMMY winner who has worked widely in jazz and in classical settings as a performer and conductor.
MoreRoscoe Mitchell
Saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell is a pioneering figure in avant garde jazz, having worked with Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since its beginnings, and co-founding the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago. He is currently Darius Milhaud Chair of Composition at Mills College in Oakland.
MoreRoscoe Mitchell
Saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell is a pioneering figure in avant garde jazz, having worked with Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since its beginnings, and co-founding the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago. He is currently Darius Milhaud Chair of Composition at Mills College in Oakland.
MoreReggie Workman
Bassist and composer Reggie Workman is one of the great instrumentalists in jazz history, known widely for his timeless work with the John Coltrane Quartet and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He has appeared on hundreds of albums with a staggering array of artists, led and co-led 10 sessions, and is a professor at New York’s The New School.
MoreReggie Workman
Bassist and composer Reggie Workman is one of the great instrumentalists in jazz history, known widely for his timeless work with the John Coltrane Quartet and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He has appeared on hundreds of albums with a staggering array of artists, led and co-led 10 sessions, and is a professor at New York’s The New School.
MoreDorthaan Kirk
Jazz advocate and widow of jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dorthaan Kirk has been a major figure in jazz radio for over 40 years as a founding staffer at WBGO in Newark, NJ, and a regular curator of jazz events around New Jersey. She continues to maintain the legacy of her late husband and is a tireless promoter of jazz education.
MoreDorthaan Kirk
Jazz advocate and widow of jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dorthaan Kirk has been a major figure in jazz radio for over 40 years as a founding staffer at WBGO in Newark, NJ, and a regular curator of jazz events around New Jersey. She continues to maintain the legacy of her late husband and is a tireless promoter of jazz education.
MoreFEATURED ARTICLES
2020 NEA Jazz Masters: A Q+A with Reggie Workman (On the Corner)
2020 NEA Jazz Masters: A Q+A with Dorthaan Kirk (On the Corner)
2020 NEA Jazz Masters: A Q+A with Roscoe Mitchell (On the Corner)