2011 Critic's Choice Jazz Awards
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN JAZZ
Jimmy Heath
Muhal Richard Abrams
Paul Motian
Phil Woods
Wayne Shorter
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Esperanza Spalding
Jason Moran
Joe Lovano
Sonny Rollins
Vijay Iyer
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
Henry Threadgill
Jason Moran
John Hollenbeck
Maria Schneider
UP AND COMING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ambrose Akinmusire
Darius Jones
Gerald Clayton
Jon Irabagon
RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Apex - Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green (Pi Recordings)
The Art of the Improviser - Matthew Shipp (Thirsty Ear)
Bird Songs - Joe Lovano Us Five (Blue Note)
Mirror - Charles Lloyd Quartet (ECM)
Ten - Jason Moran (Blue Note)
HISTORICAL RECORDING, BOXED SET OR SINGLE CD REISSUE OF THE YEAR
Bitches Brew: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition - Miles Davis (Columbia Legacy)
The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions 1952 - 62 - Ahmad Jamal Trio (Mosaic)
The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra - Duke Ellington (Mosaic)
The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air – Henry Threadgill & Air - Mosaic
The Complete Revelation Sessions - John Carter and Bobby Bradford (Mosaic)
RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
Blue Note
Clean Feed
ECM
Pi
Sunnyside
FEMALE SINGER OF THE YEAR
Cassandra Wilson
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Gretchen Parlato
Rebecca Martin
Roberta Gambarini
MALE SINGER OF THE YEAR
Bobby McFerrin
Freddy Cole
Giacomo Gates
Gregory Porter
Kurt Elling
LARGE ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Mingus Big Band
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
SMALL ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR
Charles Lloyd Quartet
Henry Threadgill Zooid
Jason Moran and The Bandwagon
Joe Lovano Us Five
Wayne Shorter Quartet
ARRANGER OF THE YEAR
Bill Holman
Carla Bley
Darcy James Argue
David Weiss
Maria Schneider
Vince Mendoza
TRUMPETER OF THE YEAR
Ambrose Akinmusire
Dave Douglas
Jeremy Pelt
Nicholas Payton
Tom Harrell
Wynton Marsalis
TROMBONIST OF THE YEAR
Conrad Herwig
Roswell Rudd
Steve Davis
Steve Swell
Steve Turre
Wycliffe Gordon
TENOR SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR
Chris Potter
Joe Lovano
Jon Irabagon
Sonny Rollins
Tony Malaby
Wayne Shorter
ALTO SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR
Lee Konitz
Miguel Zenon
Ornette Coleman
Phil Woods
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Steve Coleman
BARITONE SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR
Claire Daly
Gary Smulyan
James Carter
Joe Temperley
Scott Robinson
SOPRANO SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR
Dave Liebman
Evan Parker
Jane Bunnett
Jane Ira Bloom
Sam Newsome
Wayne Shorter
CLARINETIST OF THE YEAR
Anat Cohen
Ben Goldberg
Don Byron
Evan Christopher
James Falzone
Ken Peplowski
FLUTIST OF THE YEAR
Charles Lloyd
Henry Threadgill
Lew Tabackin
Mark Weinstein
Nicole Mitchell
GUITARIST OF THE YEAR
Bill Frisell
Jim Hall
Marc Ribot
Mary Halvorson
Russell Malone
PIANIST OF THE YEAR
Fred Hersch
Geri Allen
Jason Moran
Kenny Barron
Matthew Shipp
Vijay Iyer
BASSIST OF THE YEAR
Charlie Haden
Christian McBride
Dave Holland
Ron Carter
William Parker
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Eric Harland
Lewis Nash
Matt Wilson
Nasheet Waits
Paul Motian
Roy Haynes
PERCUSSIONIST OF THE YEAR
Adam Rudolph
Bobby Sanabria
Cyro Baptista
Hamid Drake
Kahil El'Zabar
ORGANIST/KEYBOARDIST OF THE YEAR
Craig Taborn
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Gary Versace
Joey DeFrancesco
Larry Goldings
MALLET INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Gary Burton
Jason Adasiewicz
Joe Locke
Stefon Harris
Steve Nelson
VIOLINIST OF THE YEAR
Billy Bang
Christian Howes
Jenny Scheinman
Mark Feldman
Regina Carter
PLAYER OF THE YEAR INSTRUMENTS RARE IN JAZZ
Bela Fleck, banjo
Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello
Howard Johnson, tuba
Rudi Mahall, bass clarinet
Scott Robinson, specialty brass and reeds
Toots Thielemans, harmonica
2011 NOMINEES FOR JJA JAZZ AWARDS: MEDIA
PERIODICAL/WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
AllAboutJazz.com
DownBeat
JazzTimes
The New York City Jazz Record (formerly AllAboutJazz-New York)
Signal To Noise
BLOG OF THE YEAR
A Blog Supreme, by Patrick Jarenwattananon
Do The Math, by Ethan Iverson
JazzBeyondJazz, by Howard Mandel
JazzWax, by Marc Myers
Rifftides, by Doug Ramsey
BEST BOOK ABOUT JAZZ
A Biographical Guide To The Great Jazz And Pop Singers, by Will Friedwald (Pantheon)
African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, composed by Randy Weston/arranged by Willard Jenkins (Duke University Press)
I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath, by Jimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren (Temple University Press)
Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins, photographs by John Abbott, text by Bob Blumenthal (Abrams)
Where the Dark and the Light Folks Meet: Race and the Mythology, Politics, and Business of Jazz, by Randall Sandke -- Rowman & Littlefield Publishing
BEST LINER NOTES OF THE YEAR
Dan Morgenstern - It's About That Time, Hot Club of Detroit (Mack Avenue)
Hank Shteamer – The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic)
Steven Lasker – The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (Mosaic)
THE HELEN DANCE-ROBERT PALMER AWARD FOR REVIEW AND FEATURE WRITING
Ben Ratliff
Larry Blumenfeld
Marc Myers
Nate Chinen
THE WILLIS CONOVER–MARIAN MCPARTLAND AWARD FOR BROADCASTING
Gary Walker
Jim Wilke
Josh Jackson
Linda Yohn
Phil Schaap
THE LONA FOOTE- BOB PARENT AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
Jimmy Katz
John Abbott
Michael Jackson
Mitchell Seidel
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN JAZZ JOURNALISM
Amiri Baraka (also writing as Leroi Jones)
Ben Ratliff
Bill Milkowski
Stanley Crouch
SHORT FORM VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Henry Threadgill: Playing It Unsafe - Jeremy Robins, producer/director
I Heart Jazz - Alan Mezquida, producer/director
Jazz Robots - Joe Hundertmark, producer/director
Sonny Rollins: Getting It Back Together - Bret Primack, producer/director
TK Blue: Latin Bird, by Brian Grady - producer/director
PHOTO OF THE YEAR
Benny Powell by Lena Adasheva
Carla Bley by John Watson
Esperanza Spalding by Andrea Canter
Maceo Parker by Bill King
Sonny Rollins by John Abbott
Tom Harrell by David Kawai