Awards Night Brings Out the Best

The audience of some 3,000 was in on it Saturday when three of the most distinguished names in jazz--Joe Henderson, Dave Brubeck and Art Farmer--were honored during the closing night of the 26th annual International Assn. of Jazz Educators conference, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Before what can only be described as an informed audience of musicians, band directors, jazz industry figures and fans, the American Jazz Master Awards were presented Saturday in Anaheim by past winner Dr. Billy Taylor and NEA chairman Bill Ivey.

Herbie Hancock accepted the award--which is from the National Endowment for the Arts and carries a fellowship of $20,000--for Henderson, who was unable to attend because of illness. Hancock noted that saxophonist Henderson created “a new level of professionalism and power. Whatever comes out of his horn stops you dead in your tracks.”

Brubeck, who captured legions of fans in the 1950s with the sweet meter of “Take Five” and others, told the audience in his usual deadpan style that it was “the first time I’ve received some real money for not doing anything.” Brubeck said that he will donate the money to the jazz education program at his alma mater, College of the Pacific in Stockton.

Farmer, dubbed “Mr. Melody” by presenter Taylor, promised to work hard to “justify this great honor.”

In its 17-year history, the Jazz Master Award has been given to such legendary artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Benny Carter and Ornette Coleman.

The concert included performances from trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s quintet, with guest saxophonist Donald Harrison; Hancock playing with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble; and past Jazz Master Award winner Gerald Wilson’s Orchestra.

The music was consistently performed with exquisite craft.

Blanchard’s quintet played movie music--including the haunting theme from “Chinatown” and Duke Ellington’s grinding “Anatomy of a Murder”--from an upcoming album.

Donald Harrison, Blanchard’s co-leader in the New Orleans-born Blanchard-Harrison band of the ‘80s, made a now-rare appearance with his former Jazz Messengers crony, and the saxophonist matched Blanchard’s amazing intensity on both alto and soprano.

Hancock apologized for using sheet music on a reharmonized, considered solo reading of “Embraceable You.” He pushed and cajoled the Boston-based Thelonious Monk Institute ensemble from the keyboard, while playing with characteristic ingenuity and abandon.

Still, the moment that best represented the jazz world’s inclusive spirit came when presenter Taylor sat at the piano with Gerald Wilson’s orchestra for a reading of the bebop anthem “Anthropology.” Taylor’s spontaneously generated introduction was dense as a history book and just as revealing.

The 80-year-old Wilson, who was awarded an NEA Jazz Master in 1990, was especially flamboyant as he introduced his music with stories of Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford and former band member Farmer. His lush arrangements--along with hearty solos from trumpeter Carl Saunders, trombonist Isaac Smith, saxophonist Louis Taylor and guitarist Anthony Wilson--brought strong, exclamation-filled ovations from the discerning audience.