Muhal Richard Abrams Receives BNY Mellon Jazz 2012 Living Legacy Award

Jazz pianist and composer Muhal Richard Abrams was honored with the BNY Mellon Jazz 2012 Living Legacy Award in a special ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, October 19, 2012. The Living Legacy award honors jazz masters from the mid-Atlantic region who have achieved distinction in jazz performance and education.

BNY Mellon Jazz 2012 Living Legacy Award guests began the evening with a concert performance by the Anat Cohen Quartet in the Kennedy Center Jazz Club. Following the concert, the award ceremony and a gala reception took place in the Kennedy Center Atrium.

Previous Living Legacy Award winners (from 2011-1994) include Phil Woods, Roy Haynes, Dr. Frank Foster, Kenny Barron, Benny Golson, Oliver Lake, Rufus Reid, Randy Weston, Keter Betts, Jimmy Heath, Joe Kennedy, Jr., Shirley Scott, Reggie Workman, Dr. Donald Byrd, Larry Ridley, Barry Harris, Robert "Boysie" Lowery, and Clark Terry. A Millennium Award was conferred on Dr. Billy Taylor in 2000.

The BNY Mellon Jazz 2012 Living Legacy Award is a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and is sponsored by BNY Mellon. Additional support for this year's event was provided by the Elizabeth and Richard Dubin Foundation.

This program is made possible through a collaboration with the Kennedy Center.

Photo: (l-r) Kevin Struthers, Director, Jazz Programming, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Susan Traver, Regional President for Wealth Management for the Washington, DC Region, BNY Mellon; Awardee Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams; Steven Spiess, Chair, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; Alan Cooper, Executive Director, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Photo: Valerie Russell

More Information: http://www.midatlanticarts.org