DeJohnette, Haden among NEA's last Jazz Masters

[June 25, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jack DeJohnette -- two of the most stylistically wide-ranging musicians in modern jazz -- are among the last recipients of the nation's highest jazz honor.

The National Endowment for the Arts announced Friday that five musicians have been chosen to receive its 2012 NEA Jazz Masters Award. The program is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but has been terminated for future years due to budget constraints.

The other 2012 Jazz Masters are Chicago tenor saxophonist Von Freeman, vocalist Sheila Jordan and trumpeter Jimmy Owens, who is being recognized as an advocate for jazz artists' rights.

Earlier this year, the NEA announced that jazz musicians will be included in a new program, the American Artists of the Year awards, which will be open to dancers, theater artists, film makers, visual artists and musicians of other genres.

The final Jazz Masters awards ceremony will be held on Jan. 10 in New York at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederic P. Rose Hall.

___

Online:

http://www.neajazzmasters.org/

[Associated Press; By CHARLES J. GANS]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.