2018 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Named

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the winners of the 22nd annual JJA Jazz Awards for music, recording, journalism and media.

Leading the 2018 honoree are saxophonist-composer Benny Golson, honored for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, and writer-researcher-historian Patricia Willard, the first woman to be celebrated for her Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism by the JJA. Other notable 2018 Jazz Awards winners include drummer Matt Wilson as Musician of the Year and for Record of the Year, Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg (Palmetto Records), and Fred Hersch, Pianist of the Year and author of Book of the Year About Jazz for his memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz (Crown Archetype).  Complete 2018 winners list 

2018 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees Announced

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the nominees for the 2018 JJA Jazz Awards, which celebrate excellence in music and music journalism in thirty-nine awards categories. Topping the list are Benny Golson, Charles Lloyd and Ahmad Jamal for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and Will Friedwald, Ben Ratliff and Patricia Willard for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism. Complete nominee list.

 JJA Professional Journalist members are voting now for 2018 Jazz Awards winners, who will be announced online at JJAJazzAwards on May 7; most will receive their engraved statuettes publicly at their summer performances across the U.S. A Jazz Awards party has been scheduled for June 12, 2018, to be held at Arnold Hall of the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, space generously provided by the School of Jazz at The New School NYC. Mark your calendar now-- details coming soon.

2018 JJA Jazz Heroes named

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the 2018 "class" of JJA Jazz Heroes, 22 individuals in twenty locales around the U.S. who are being honored for their often unrecognized behind-the-scenes work in keeping jazz alive and thriving in their communities. Jazz Heroes are selected each year by community members in consultation with the JJA; the award recognizes the many kinds of non-musical contributions that are needed to keep the music going and bringing in new audiences.  List of 2018 Jazz Heroes and more about their contributions

2018 JJA Jazz Awards Nominations Begin

Nomination ballots for the 23rd Annual Jazz Journalists Association Awards are in the "mail" and Professional Journalist members of the JJA will soon be posting their picks for 2018 awards in 39 categories of jazz music, recording, media and journalism.