The Inaugural Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz is scheduled for October 2022

* The inauguration Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz announced its awards ceremony, scheduled for Saturday 22 October 2022, to Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in the subway in Atlanta, Georgia. For five decades, the venue has hosted Broadway shows, ballets, concerts, operas and more.

Presented by Jazz 91.9 WCLK, a licensed public radio station at Clark University in Atlanta and known as “Atlanta’s Jazz Station,” the Jazz Music Awards (JMA) will be a dynamic presentation that recognizes the iconic spirit of jazz by shining the spotlight on mainstream and contemporary jazz musicians who continue to make a mark on music and the industry. Hosts, artists, presenters and special award winners will be announced at a later date.

The Jazz Music Awards will recognize a wide range of creators from the world of national and international jazz, from traditional and contemporary musicians, singers and major groups, to composers, to individual songs and to complete albums. The eligibility period for the 2022 Awards Ceremony begins from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Online submissions will begin on New Years Day, Saturday January 1, 2022, through Thursday, March 31, 2022. Categories of prices are as follows: Best Mainstream Artist, Best Contemporary Artist, Best Duo, Group or Big Band, Best New Jazz Artist (contemporary or general public), Best Jazz Singer, Bis an International Artist (contemporary or general public), Best Mainstream Album, Best Contemporary Album, Jazz innovator of the year, Composer of the Year, Educator of the Year, Jazz Legacy Award, and Song of the year (Fan vote).

“In the 47 years that WCLK has been on the air, we have performed and specialized in all genres of jazz,” says Wendy williams, Managing Director of WCLK, who has been at the helm for 27 years. We play mainstream, contemporary, fusion, direct and modern jazz. We have gone through the whole range. This is the history of the resort and, frankly, the secret to our success. We are still standing. And for over fifteen years, we’ve complemented our show with live jazz concerts, which have helped support the operations of our NPR member non-profit public radio station. We’ve always enjoyed the sold-out crowds and the joy listeners feel when they see us at concerts. “

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Williams and David Linton, the station’s program director and former record company director, contacted Rushion McDonald, the founder of 3815 Media, who will lead production on the next Starry Celebration. A two-time Emmy Award-winning executive producer and three-time NAACP Image Award winner, McDonald is the host of the popular “Money Making Conversations” podcast. 3815 Media will produce the Jazz Music Awards and its red carpet event with plans to launch a live TV show globally.

McDonald’s is the architect behind the production of multimedia platforms for major clients, including Steve Harvey’s career and the successful Hoodie Awards, later renamed Neighborhood Awards. His extensive work as a writer and producer also includes collaborations with other famous talents such as Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Mo’Nique, Tia and Tamara Mowry, Stephen A. Smith, Jamie Foxx and d ‘others from New York. City in Hollywood. He has also created national media campaigns for State Farm, Ford, JC Penny, General Mills, iHeart Radio, Radio One, NBC, BET and ABC networks, to name a few. For more information on Rushion McDonald, visit rushionmcdonald.com.

Linton says, “This is an exciting time in the 47 year history of Jazz 91.9 WCLK. I worked with this station as a label manager and I know how crucial it has been in the careers of so many artists, especially jazz artists and it still is today. When Wendy told me about her return to the station as Program Director in 2018, I was thrilled. Now to have the opportunity to help write another chapter in WCLK history is an honor. Now is the time for the Jazz Music Awards and WCLK is well positioned to present this long awaited awards show. It will be a historic and momentous event for all those who love jazz. “

The Jazz Music Awards committee was awarded a three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and NEA Jazz Master, Terri Lyne Carrington, who will lead the musical direction and act as a consultant for the first-ever awards ceremony. With his technical magic and deep creativity, Carrington has become one of the giants of jazz music today. A multi-talented drummer, songwriter, producer and educator, Carrington began her professional career at age ten and received a full scholarship from Berklee College of Music at age eleven. Her artistic talent and commitment to education have earned her honorary doctorates from the Manhattan School of Music and Berklee College of Music, where she is currently the founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

To date, she has released eight career albums. She is the first female artist to win the Grammy Award for best jazz instrumental album, which she received for her 2013 project, Money Jungle: Provocative in blue. Since starting her career, she has worked as a popular musician in New York City and then moved to Los Angeles, where she was recognized on late night television as the house drummer for “The Arsenio Hall. Show “and Quincy Jones. ‘VIBE TV’ program, hosted by Sinbad. To date, Carrington has performed on over a hundred recordings and has been a model and advocate for young women and men internationally through her teaching and touring careers. She has worked extensively with jazz giants and legends including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, James Moody, Joe Sample, Esperanza Spalding, and more . For more information on Terri Lyne Carrington, visit terrilynecarrington.com.

“There is so much excitement and anticipation around the Jazz Music Awards,” said Williams. “I have always known that Terri Lyne is an incredible talent and a very accomplished drummer, composer and educator. The more I remove the layers, I am fascinated that she has covered so much territory in her career. She is also a much sought-after Music Director for prestigious large-scale jazz and musical productions around the world. And we all know she’s performed with and directed some of the best and that’s why she’s perfect for our inaugural ceremony.

As a presenter of live jazz shows over the years, sold out at some of Atlanta’s largest concert halls and hosting annual benefit shows, WCLK began presenting artists with its Jazz Legacy. Award. In recent years, Williams has noticed, as he travels the musical landscape, that there is a dearth of large award ceremonies honoring the creativity and work of one of the earliest forms of indigenous musical art in America: jazz. Much like Williams, the Linton program director, and her team began to think about hosting a bigger celebration of jazz, COVID-19 has put all performances on hiatus. “These musicians were sidelined for a year and a half, and the audience was absent,” she says. “I felt we should come back big. “

In addition, Williams says, the event will include an educational component on the Clark University Atlanta campus, as well as a black-tie awards gala at the Cobb Center on Friday, October 21, 2022, the day before the awards ceremony. prices. Friday’s program will feature interactive sessions from world-renowned experts in the field of jazz, and classes will also include small-group workshops led by leading creators from the music and performing arts industries for students. high school and college students as well as the public.

“Participants will be able to learn and glean something that is happening in the jazz music industry from some of the best,” says Williams. “So we want to make it an exciting and spectacular weekend that uplifts and promotes this music. “As soon as COVID was lifted, you saw artists on the road again and jazz festivals were back. Now, it’s a collective way to have them all on one stage loved, to be celebrated the same way we see it in other music awards shows. We need to.

For more information and updates on the Jazz Music Awards and Jazz 91.9 WCLK, visit: wclk.com.