Former Jazz Times editor and publisher and former WBGO Editoiral Content Producer Lee Mergner was presented with the Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award at Jazz Congress on Wed., Jan. 7 in the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Christian McBride, the 2017 Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award recipient, presented Mergner with the 2026 award.
The Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award was created in 2014 in honor of the longtime jazz record executive who was a champion and advocate for so many jazz artists over the last four decades. The annual award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and vision in expanding the audience for jazz and has made a difference for artists, the music, and audience.
For more than 30 years, Mergner served as an editor and publisher of JazzTimes, which won numerous ASCAP-Deems Taylor awards for music journalism. Since 2018, in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Mergner has also been a co-organizer of Jazz Congress. He founded Jazz Connect Conference in 2012 and produced the conference through 2017. Mergner co-produced the Jazz Industry Track at the IAJE conference from 2001 through 2008 and produced the JazzTimes Convention during the ‘90s. Mergner joined WBGO in 2024 as an editorial content producer.
Hear Dave Popkin's entire WBGO interview with Lee Mergner below:
