The National Endowment for the Arts will honor it's 2020 class of Jazz Masters virtually, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony and concert, originally set to take place in April, will be available online at 8 PM on Thursday, August 20th, and you can watch it right here.
The NEA partnered with SFJAZZ, which is the site of the presentation. This year's honorees are vocalist Bobby McFerrin, jazz advocateDorthaan Kirk, Phialdelphia bassist Reggie Workman and saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, and the event will be hosted by 2017 NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Performances will come from all over the globe, and will feature fabulous artists including Ambrose Akinmusire, Christian McBride, James Carter, Lisa Fisher, and many others. McFerrin, Mitchell and Workman are slated to perform as well, along with Ms. Bridgewater.
Immediately following the concert, SFJAZZ Founder and Executive Artistic Director Randall Kline will host an online discussion with the honorees that will feature and interactive Q & A segment.