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Three events honoring the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 2023 Jazz Masters Fellows were held over several days in the District. It was the 40th anniversary of America’s highest honor for jazz. Honorees were violinist and educator Regina Carter, saxophonist, composer, arranger and bandleader Kenny Garrett, and drummer and bandleader Louis Hayes. Sue Mingus, who wore many hats in jazz, was honored posthumously with the “A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy” for her career as an author, archivist, band manager, educator, musical director, and record producer. Mingus was always a champion of her late husband’s legacy, bassist Charles Mingus, a jazz giant.
Coaching Next-Generation Jazz Musicians
When the Jazz Masters are celebrated in D.C., a master class with Howard University jazz students is included. This year, Garrett visited and offered feedback after small group performances. Charlie Young, professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Howard University, opened the session by imagining what a student might feel being in the presence of an NEA Jazz Master.
“If I had a Jazz Master in front of me, speaking to all of us, I would have endless questions. They have already achieved this dream of ours,” said Young.
For those Howard students that performed, Garrett provided feedback about focusing on tempo, knowing the melody and practicing control.
Intimate Conversations With Jazz Masters
On the morning of April 1, Jazz Masters Carter, Garrett, and Hayes, all from Detroit, Michigan, chatted with Felix Contreras, co-creator and co-host of “Alt.Latino,” NPR’s radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture. He began the conversation with the same question for each musician.
“What was your reaction when hearing from the NEA about this recognition,” Contreras asked. The responses ranged from being surprised to being among the “best of the best” in jazz. Hearing career insights from each new Jazz Master made the NPR listening session very rich.
Drummer Hayes has performed with jazz legends Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, and Horace Silver. His time with pianist and composer Silver, a 1995 NEA Jazz Master, seemed to be the most impactful.
“Horace’s music was very important. He was such a creative writer. When you walked on stage and performed every night, it really was the best time,” Hayes told the NPR audience.
Garrett has performed with several Jazz Masters, including Art Blakey, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Pharoah Sanders, and McCoy Tyner. He reflected on his time with Miles Davis.
“Miles opened me up to being myself,” said saxophonist Garrett. “I try to take those lessons I got from the elders and incorporate them into how I run my band.”
Violinist Carter admitted she was still trying to take it all in at being named a Jazz Master. She has been influenced by different genres of music.
“It was just about a mixture of music, and we played all kinds of stuff in my house,” said Carter. She talked about being a jazz violinist. “I just knew what I wanted to do and saw it.”
Big Finale
At the 2023 NEA Jazz Masters Concert at the Kennedy Center on the evening of April 1, Maria Rosario Jackson, the 13th Chair of the NEA, spoke about how she learned to appreciate jazz.
“As a child, my father introduced my brother and me to the sounds and importance of jazz and jazz musicians as a way of connecting our family to our African American roots and culture,” said Jackson. “He wanted to make sure we knew we had a relationship to this artform that endured across generations.”
Giving thanks for honoring Sue Mingus were her son and granddaughter Roberto and Emma Ungaro.
In past years, newly inducted honorees were in a box seat watching all-star bands play their music. This year, the Jazz Masters Tribute Concert featured each honoree performing with their own jazz group. Based on applause and standing ovations, hearing four different bands perform, featuring their 2023 Jazz Master, including the Mingus Dynasty Band, was exactly what the audience wanted. The full tribute concert can be viewed at https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz.