(New York, NY – February 2, 2004) New School University's Jazz & Contemporary Music Program will honor music visionary and co-founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun; queen of American pop, soul and R & B, Aretha Franklin; co-founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Percy Heath; and legendary blues and rock pianist, Johnnie Johnson at the 2004 Beacons in Jazz award benefit on Tuesday, March 30, 2004. The evening will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m., and performances and presentation of the awards at the Pierre hotel's Grand Ballroom, 61st Street and Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan.
The Beacons in Jazz awards gala raises scholarship money for promising students earning their Bachelor's degrees from the Jazz Program.
Leadership tables are available for the 2004 Beacons in Jazz awards, and single tickets range from $250 - $2,500. For further information on tables and individual ticket purchases, call (212) 229-5896, ext. 309, or fax (212) 229-5146. The Web site is located at www.newschool.edu/jazz/.
Since 1986, New School University's Jazz & Contemporary Music Program has recognized living jazz musicians and contributors to the field whose extraordinary talent has significantly contributed to the evolution of American music culture with the Beacons in Jazz award. Past recipients have included: Wayne Shorter, Phil Woods, Jackie McLean, James Moody, Cab Calloway, Milt Hinton, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Benny Carter, Max Roach, Chico Hamilton, and George and Joyce Wein.
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ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES
Ahmet Ertegun was born in Istanbul, Turkey and moved with family to the United States when his father, Mujnir, was appointed Ambassador. In 1946, with his friend Herb Abramson, he decided to start a record label. Atlantic Records was founded in September 1947 in New York City (incorporated in October 1947). In 1953, Jerry Wexler joined Atlantic as a partner. Nesuhi Ertegun, Ahmet's brother, joined in 1956, and initially built up the label's extensive catalog of jazz long-players. Nesuhi produced such jazz artists as John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Later, Nesuhi would become involved with the label's rhythm & blues, and rock & roll roster as well, producing albums for Ray Charles, the Drifters, Bobby Darin, and Roberta Flack. In the 1960's, Atlantic produced albums for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett; and in the 1970's, they worked with Dr. John and Dire Straits. In the 1960's and 1970's, Ahmet continued to lead the label with phenomenal success and serves as chairman of Atlantic Records to this day. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named its main exhibition hall after Ahmet Ertegun.
Aretha Franklin has been an icon in the music world, for nearly four decades, earning her the title "Queen of Soul." With her extraordinary range and gospel-inspired phrasing, Franklin exploded onto the music scene in the late 1960's becoming the country's leading female vocalist. She was raised in Detroit, where her father was a Baptist minister. She sang in the church choir, and at 14 became a soloist in her father's traveling gospel revue and recorded her first professional album. Franklin arrived in NYC at 18 and spent time singing on a variety of stages. It was in 1966, with her first recordings for Atlantic Records, that the legend was born. Her hits include "I Never Loved A Man (the Way I Loved You)," "Respect," "A Natural Woman," and "Chain of Fools," among many others. She has been honored with Grammy Awards and Billboard magazine accolades. That era has now become known as the "golden age of soul," and Aretha Franklin is its defining artist, giving voice to a sense of black identity at the time of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and the American civil rights movement. By the mid-1970's, she had six gold albums, 14 gold singles, and eight Grammy Awards. In 1987, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She began the 1990's with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her latest album, "So Damn Happy," is on Arista Records. She continues to inspire today's artists including Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Ashanti, Faith Evans, and others.
Percy Heath is one of the consummate team players in jazz history. His virtuosity on the bass, and his ability to make musicians sound better, have made him a sterling member of some of the greatest bands in modern jazz history. Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, he grew up in Philadelphia. Percy is a member of one of the most prolific families in jazz. He's the eldest of the Heath Brothers clan that includes saxophonist Jimmy and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. His musical quest began in junior high school, on the violin. During his World War II stint in the Air Force, he was one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. After the war, he took up the bass and enrolled in the Granoff School of Music. His early influences on the bass included Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford, and Ray Brown. Before long, he was performing on bandstands around Philadelphia. He and his brother, Jimmy, joined trumpeter Howard McGhee's band and moved to NYC. He played with Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, and J.J. Johnson, among others. In 1950, he joined the famed Dizzy Gillespie big band, and continued freelancing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Clifford Brown, and Horace Silver. In 1951, Percy Heath joined the Milt Jackson Quartet, alongside pianist John Lewis and drummer Kenny Clarke. In 1952, that band was renamed the Modern Jazz Quartet, becoming one of the most historic small bands in jazz history. In 1975, the MJQ went on hiatus, allowing Percy to form the Heath Brothers band. The MJQ reunited in the early 1980's, and Percy split his time between the Quartet and the Heath Brothers. The MJQ continued its unprecedented 40+ year run through 1994. Percy Heath has been the recipient of numerous awards and citations. In 1988, he was named an Officer of Arts and Letters by the French Government. He holds an honorary degree from Berklee College, and is recipient of the Thelonious Monk Institute's Annual Founders Award.
Johnnie Johnson, known as the "Father of Rock & Roll Piano," has been performing for 67 of his 75 years. His album, "Johnnie B. Bad," was produced by Keith Richards, and was backed up by fan such as NRBQ and Eric Clapton. His second CD, "Johnnie B. Back," was produced by NBC Late Night with guitarist Jimmy Vivino, and accompanying the Johnnie Johnson band are album guests Buddy Guy, Al Kooper, John Sebastian, Phoebe Snow, Max Weinberg, and Steve Jordan. Johnson was born in 1924 in Fairmont, West Virginia, a country music-loving mining town near Charleston. His father was a miner. He started playing piano at the age of 5, when his mother bought an upright piano. After graduating high school in 1942,Johnson moved to Detroit for work at the Ford Motor Company plant. A year later, he was drafted and served in the Marine's special weapons crew in the South Pacific Marshall Islands. In 1946, he returned to Detroit. After three years, he played in all the clubs in Detroit that he could play and then moved to Chicago. On March 31, 1952, he moved to St. Louis, where he hired an "unknown" musician named Chuck Berry. They became the hottest band on the scene. The Johnson/Berry union created an infectious groove that transformed popular music and influenced a generation of musicians. They toured together for 18 years. Some of their collaborative compositions include "Maybellene," "Back in the USA," "Sweet Little Sixteen," and "Roll Over Beethoven." Since the 1980's, Johnson has been touring with his own group. He was recognized for his pioneering contributions to rock & roll in the 1988 film, "Hail Hail Rock & Roll." He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 19, 2001. Johnson continues to tour actively and is in demand from clubs, concerts and festivals around the world.
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New School University Jazz trains students for the artistic, technical and professional demands of employment and performance in the music world. The Program grants a B.F.A. degree in Jazz Performance and in Composition/Arranging. Students in the Program study with an internationally renowned artists faculty. The program encourages and nurtures each student's unique talents, to help cultivate the future generation of Jazz leaders. Founded in 1986, New School University's Jazz Program has produced some of the leading voices in Jazz today, including Brad Mehldau, Larry Goldings, Roy Hargrove, Peter Bernstein, and Susie Ibarra. For further information on the Jazz Program, call (212) 229-5896 or visit the Web site at www.newschool.edu/jazz/.