Gary Giddins, Chucho Valdés and others will receive an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship

Marshall Allen, Marilyn Crispell, Chucho Valdés and Gary Giddins are to receive the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. They will be honored on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at a free concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. in Washington, DC

Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, president of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) said in a statement: “We are delighted to welcome these four honorees to the ranks of the NEA Jazz Masters. Each in their own way played a key role in the cultivation and development of this art form and demonstrate the enormous diversity and creativity found in jazz today. We look forward to partnering with the Kennedy Center on events next April that will celebrate their achievements and inspire new audiences and musicians to embrace jazz.”

“This class of NEA Jazz Masters represents the best of free-thinking musicians,” said Jason Moran, Kennedy Center's artistic director for jazz. “Each was an active and integral part of the communities that pushed the music to new heights.”

Below are thumbnails of the four honorees:

• Marshall Allen's inventive and distinctive sax playing, as well as the band's arrangements, have made him a major force in jazz in his centenary. He is best known for his work with Sun Ra, recording and performing with him from the 1950s until Sun Ra's death in 1993, and led the Sun Ra Arkestra for the past 30 years. It received a Grammy nomination two years ago for Best Jazz Large Ensemble album Vortex.

• Since appearing on the scene in the late 1970s, Marilyn Crispell has become one of the most original and sought-after avant-garde jazz pianists and composers. Her adventurous and distinctive style was influenced by her first jazz loves, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor.

• Originally from Cuba, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, Chucho Valdés is one of the most influential figures in the world of Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Valdés has combined elements of the Afro-Cuban musical tradition, jazz, classical music, rock and more into his distinctive style. Valdés has won seven Grammys in a span of 42 years (1980-2022).

• Gary Giddins has been one of the leading jazz critics for over 50 years, having written books and essays on The New York Times, New Yorker, Esquireand many other publications, and the “Weather Bird” column for The Village Voice. As a teacher, he has inspired new generations of jazz fans at many universities. Giddins won a Grammy for Best album Score in 1987 for the Frank Sinatra compilation, The Voice: The Columbia Years 1943-52. He was also nominated in this category for his notes on compilations by Duke Ellington and Art Pepper.

Giddins is this year's recipient of The AB Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy. The award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the appreciation, knowledge, and advancement of this distinctive American art form.

Since 1982, the NEA has awarded 177 fellowships to jazz greats, including Kenny Barron, Terence Blanchard, Carla Bley, Dave Brubeck, Terri Lyne Carrington, Betty Carter, Stanley Crouch, Roy Eldridge, Paquito D'Rivera, Quincy Jones , Ra, Dianna Reeves and Henry Threadgill.

NEA Jazz Masters Scholarships are awarded to living individuals based on nominations from the public. NEA Jazz Masters Scholarships are $25,000 and may be received once in a lifetime. Visit the NEA website for detailed information and to submit nominations.

The deadline for nominations for the next class of honorees is October 31, 2024.