Longtime WBGO host and music director Gary Walkerand the podcast Jazz United are among the winners of the 2021 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards.
They join bassist Ron Carter, honored for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, and Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead, recipient of Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism, along with others recognized in a total of 47 categories.
Gary Walker won the Marian McPartland-Willis Conover Award for Career Achievement in Broadcasting, which has also been bestowed on WBGO’s Rhonda Hamilton and Michael Bourne. Jazz United, hosted by Greg Bryant and Nate Chinen, won Podcast of the Year in its first year of eligibility; last year the award went to WBGO’s The Checkout, produced and hosted by Simon Rentner.
Maria Schneider won awards for Composer, Arranger and Large Ensemble, as well as Record of the Year for Data Lords, which topped the 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. And Terri Lyne Carrington, who was recently profiled on Jazz Night in America, won Musician of the Year as well as Drummer of the Year.
In the journalism field, Steven Sussman won the Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award for Career Achievement in Photography, and Ted Panken won the Robert Palmer-Helen Oakley Dance Award for Excellence in Writing. Publication of the Year went to DownBeat, and Blog of the Year went to Ethan Iverson’s Do the Math.
The JJA Awards celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, encompassing an industry-wide range of musicians, writers and media organizations. For a full tally of results, as well as more information about the Jazz Journalists Association, visit jjajazzawards.com.