June 11: 2014 JJA Jazz Awards Party at the Blue Note NYC

Elio Villafranca will perform. Photo by Jerry Lacay

The Jazz Journalists Association will celebrate the 18th annual JJA Jazz Awards  with a cocktail-and-music party on Wednesday June 11, from 3:30-5:30 pm at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. This event is open to the public;tickets should be purchased in advance.


Entertainment will be provided by:

Elio Villafranca's Jass Syncopators (with Steve Turre, trombone; Vincent Herring, alto sax; Greg Tardy, tenor sax; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; percussionists and dancer)

Sheila Jordan and Cameron Brown

Stephanie Richards Trumpet Ensemble

 Josh Jackson, host of WBGO's The Checkout, will emcee.

Sheila Jordan and Cameron Brown
 by Jos Knaepen

Only winners of Jazz Awards in categories honoring jazz journalism and media will be announced at the party this year, as winners of categories for excellence in music  were announced  on April 15.  Finalist nominees in the journalism/media categories are vieing for awards for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism, Best Book of the Year, Photo of the Year, Website of the Year, Print Periodical of the Year, Blog of the Year, the Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing in the Year 2012 and the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting and Best Short Form Jazz Video. 

Stephanie Richards Trumpet Ensemble

The Jazz Awards party is well-known as a popular hang for players in all jazz-related industries --the jazz record business, jazz education, festival and concert production, management, publicity and booking agencies included-- and it provides the opportunity to mingle with some of the best-informed, most articulate media experts in jazz today. Party attendees will be treated to Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale wine, waters, sodas and hors d'oeuvres from the Blue Note kitchen.

MC Josh Jackson

Tickets should be purchased in advance. Reserved ringside seating tickets are $125 per person, tickets to the general public for general admission are $75 and JJA members and 2014 nominees may attend for $50. Winners of the 2014 Jazz Awards for musical achievement are invited to attend as guests of the JJA, but must rsvp in advance on the ticket site.

The party is a fund-raiser for the Jazz Journalist Association's year-round educational and outreach programs aimed at building new jazz audiences and  training jazz journalists in the skills needed to cover jazz in today's fast changing media landscape. Contributions to the JJA, tax deductible in most cases, can be made here.

2014 JJA Music Awards WINNERS