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.

Photos of the four honorees with text reading National Endowment for the Arts 2024 Jazz Masters

2024 NEA Jazz Masters: Amina Claudine Myers (Photo by Crystal Blake), Gary Bartz (Photo by Alan Nahigian), Terence Blanchard (Photo by Cedric Angeles), Willard Jenkins (Photo courtesy of Willard Jenkins).
 

On Saturday, April 13, 2024, the National Endowment for the Arts, in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will celebrate the 2024 honorees with a tribute concert. More information will be available in early 2024.

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

Kenny Garrett

Saxophonist, Composer, Bandleader, and 2023 NEA Jazz Master

Remembering the Late Ahmad Jamal

1994 NEA Jazz Master, Pianist, and Composer

Regina Carter part 2

Violinist and 2023 NEA Jazz Master