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.
The live broadcast has concluded. You can watch on-demand below.
2024 NEA Jazz Masters Fellows
Gary Bartz
Saxophonist, Educator
Terence Blanchard
Trumpeter, Composer, Band Leader, Educator
Willard Jenkins
Artistic Director, Writer, Broadcaster, Educator, Oral Historian
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 Carter, Kenny Garrett, Louis Hayes, and Sue Mingus—at a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
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.Recent NEA Jazz Masters Podcasts
Revisiting Dave Holland
Bassist, Cellist, Composer, Bandleader and 2017 NEA Jazz Master
Willard Jenkins
Artistic Director, Writer, Broadcaster, Educator, Oral Historian, and 2024 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy
Amina Claudine Myers
Pianist, Organist, Vocalist, Composer, Arranger, Educator, and 2024 Jazz Master
