Group of four awards on table.

NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships

The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists. Each year since 1982, the program has elevated to its ranks a select number of living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz. For more information, read our brief history of the program.

2024 NEA Jazz Masters events

Visit the NEA's newsroom for full details on these events.

  • Thursday, April 11 at 12:30 p.m. -- “Music Careers, Beyond the Bandstand” with 2024 NEA Jazz Master Willard Jenkins
  • Saturday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m. -- NPR Listening Party with the 2024 NEA Jazz Masters
  • Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. -- 2024 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert. Available through a live webcast and radio broadcast as well!

     

Tribute Concerts (2012-2023) | Photo Gallery

2024 NEA Jazz Masters Fellows

2024

Gary Bartz

Saxophonist, Educator
2024

Terence Blanchard

Trumpeter, Composer, Band Leader, Educator
2024

Willard Jenkins

Artistic Director, Writer, Broadcaster, Educator, Oral Historian
2024

Amina Claudine Myers

Pianist, Organist, Vocalist, Composer, Arranger, Educator

On April 1, 2023, the National Endowment for the Arts honored the 2023 NEA Jazz Masters—Regina CarterKenny GarrettLouis Hayes, and Sue Mingus—at a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 

NEA Jazz Masters 40th Anniversary Publication

Nominate an NEA Jazz Master Fellow!

The Arts Endowment encourages nominations from the public of a broad range of individuals who have been significant to the field of jazz through vocal and instrumental performance, creative leadership, and education.
Make a Nomination!

Recent NEA Jazz Masters Podcasts

Gary Bartz

Saxophonist and 2024 NEA Jazz Master

Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro

Co-Directors of the documentary “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes”

Kenny Garrett

Saxophonist, Composer, Bandleader, and 2023 NEA Jazz Master