Jazz

The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers Awards has received a major, multi-year financial commitment from The Herb Alpert Foundation. The program, established in 2002, has been renamed the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has awarded its first class of Doris Duke Artists. Each member of the first class will receive an unrestricted, multi-year cash grant of $225,000, plus as much as $50,000 more in targeted support for retirement savings and audience development. 

ASCAP writer/violinist Ken Ford has created a niche in the jazz world with an unorthodox and alluring sound, and broken into urban music on collaborations with Jill Scott, Chaka Khan and more. We spoke with Ford about his new album State of Mind and the experience of forging his own path.

ASCAP member Mike Melvoin, a veteran pianist/composer/arranger who scored episodes of Fame and MacGyver, contributed to classic records by Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and The Beach Boys and served as president of the Recording Academy, has passed away at the age of 74.

The program, established in 2002, was created to encourage gifted jazz composers from throughout the United States. The recipients, who receive cash awards, range in age from 10 to 29, and are selected through a juried national competition.

Grammy, Emmy and ASCAP Henry Mancini Award-winning trumpeter/composer Mark Isham had a fruitful 2011, anchored by his scores to Warrior, Dolphin Tale and the first season of Once Upon a Time. We spoke with Isham about the fascinating places his career has taken him - and continues to take him.

New Orleans-based Trombone Shorty's new release, For True, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album Chart. It features ASCAP members Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Beck, and Ledisi, among others. ASCAP caught up with him on tour at NYC's Terminal 5.

ASCAP writer/singer/guitarist Allan Harris is that rare creator who plays everything well - jazz, R&B, rock, country, you name it. Versatility is all part of Harris's philosophy. Here, he explains how it informs his new album Open Up Your Mind and his music career in general.

Five music greats were added to the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame: Living Legends Jimmy Heath and George Avakian, and posthumous honorees Oscar Peterson, Mel Powell and Nina Simone. The event also celebrate recipients of ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards and honored Omer Avital with the ASCAP Jazz Vanguard Award.

ASCAP has announced the winners of the 43rd Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for outstanding print, broadcast and new media coverage of music. The winners will be honored at a special invitation-only ceremony and reception on Tuesday, November 15.

The September 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Concert in Washington, DC, hosted by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), was headlined by renowned jazz musicians Randy Weston and Ben Williams.