The NEA Jazz Masters fellowship began in 1982, establishing a lifetime achievement honor for practitioners of a uniquely American art form. One of the first three inductees was Sun Ra — a composer, bandleader and keyboardist whose frame of reference transcended earthbound restrictions, let alone national borders. Over the ensuing four decades, the NEA Jazz Masters program has continued to recognize artists and advocates whose influence circles the globe.
Marshall Allen, who has held down the alto saxophone chair in the Sun Ra Arkestra since the mid-1950s, is the senior member of the new class of NEA Jazz Masters, bringing the honor full circle. Allen has led the Arkestra since shortly after Sun Ra's earthly departure in 1993. Now a centenarian, he was recently certified the "oldest person to release a debut album (male)" by Guinness World Records, and remains a vibrant performer as well as a link to cosmic history.
Allen will perform with the Arkestra as part of the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, April 26. The concert will be hosted by pianist Jason Moran, the Kennedy Center artistic director for jazz, and streamed live on multiple platforms, including at NPR Music, starting at 8 p.m. (You can watch at the video link above.)
Pianist and composer Chucho Valdés, 83, brings his own unique cultural perspective to this NEA Jazz Masters class: He has been an exemplar and a catalyst of Afro-Cuban jazz for more than 60 years. He'll also perform at the concert, with his Royal Quartet.
Marilyn Crispell, also a pianist and composer, represents another strain of musical exploration. Now 78, she has been a prominent figure in the avant-garde for more than 40 years, since her emergence in a group led by composer Anthony Braxton, who became an NEA Jazz Master a little over a decade ago. Crispell will perform in the concert with another past inductee, bassist and educator Reggie Workman.
Gary Giddins, 77, is the 2025 recipient of the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy, awarded each year to a figure whose contribution occurs mainly off the bandstand. A preeminent voice among jazz critics, Giddins has also been involved in jazz education — and jazz repertory, as a co-founder of the American Jazz Orchestra, which presented concerts from the mid-1980s through the early-'90s.
Two decades ago, in his column in The Village Voice, Giddins declared that "no career in jazz during the past 30 years has proven more consistently unpredictable and rewarding than that of David Murray." A tenor saxophonist, composer and bandleader, David Murray will pay tribute to Giddins on the concert program, leading a quartet featuring pianist Marta Sánchez.
A number of other notable artists will perform on the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert, so be sure to watch the livestream, here or at arts.gov or kennedy-center.org. An archive of the webcast will be available following the event at arts.gov.
Also note: NPR will host an NEA Jazz Masters listening party on Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. at NPR's headquarters, located at 1111 North Capitol St., NE, in Washington, D.C. Hosted by NPR Music's Felix Contreras and DC Jazz Festival's president and CEO, Sunny Sumter, it will include conversations with the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters and music from across their careers. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required; RSVP here.
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