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New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ ASCAP) - ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman has announced that ASCAP will add six music greats to the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame on Friday, June 1, 2007. Ms. Bergman will host the invitation-only event, which will be held for the first time in The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan from 7:30-9:45 PM.
The event will be highlighted by the induction of three ASCAP Jazz Living Legends: drummer Louie Bellson, pianist/vocalist Dave Frishberg, and vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. The latest group of inductees also includes three posthumous honorees: violinist Stéphane Grappelli, pianist/composer James P. Johnson, and guitarist Django Reinhardt. Participating in the event as presenters and/or performers will be Louie Bellson, Dave Frishberg, Terry Gibbs, Rufus Reid, Gene Bertoncini, Eric Reed, John Clayton, Joseph Alessi, and Aaron Weinstein.
In addition, emergent and critically acclaimed trombonist/composer Wycliffe Gordon will be presented with The ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award for his innovative musical activity as a composer, instrumentalist, performer, and educator in the field of Jazz.
The reception will also celebrate the recipients of the 2007 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards. The program, established in 2002 to encourage the jazz creators of the future, recognizes composers less than 30 years of age whose works are selected through a national competition. The ASCAP composer/judges for the 2007 competition were: Shelley Berg, John Fedchock and Wycliffe Gordon. The award recipients are listed below, along with their ages and the titles of their award winning works. The recipients receive cash awards.
The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards are in their second year of sponsorship by the Gibson Foundation, the philanthropic arm of musical giant Gibson Guitar Corp. The Gibson Foundation supports The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards in fulfillment of its commitment to educational excellence through music and the arts.
Commenting on the awards, Marilyn Bergman said, "The young jazz creators recognized through this program represent the future of this uniquely American art form. We congratulate the recipients and extend thanks to the dedicated panel of ASCAP composers who selected the honorees."
The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award Recipients - 2007:
Fabian Almazan (age 22) New York, NY - "Personalities"
Patrick Cornelius (age 28) Astoria, NY - "Brother Gabriel"
George Dulin (age 28) Malden, MA - "Innocence Lost"
Lee Forest Dynes (age 17) Tipp City, OH - "Father's Reel"
Morgan Jones (age 19) Los Angeles, CA - "The Loneliest Monk"
Grace Kelly (age 14) Brookline, MA - "Every Road I Walk"
Ross LaFleur (age 25) Rochester, NY - "Guideless"
Pascal Le Boeuf (age 20) New York, NY - "You Are"
Remy Le Boeuf (age 20) New York , NY - "Chocolate Frenzy"
Jimmy Macbride (age 15) W. Hartford, CT - "Tenure"
Chase Morrin (age 12) San Diego, CA - "Free Fall"
Bob Reynolds (age 29) Astoria, NY - "The Day Before"
Joshua Richman (age 20) Hatfield, PA - "Happy Medium"
Robert Rodriguez (age 29) New York, NY - "Epiphany"
Sherisse Rogers (age 28) Brooklyn, NY - "For Lost Ones"
Matt Savage (age 14) Francestown, NH - "Hide & Seek"
Jon Snell (age 15) Fairfax, IA - "Knight Time"
Mark Steinert (age 17) Windsor, VA - "The Struggle"
Nikos Syropoulos (age 18) Wynnewood, PA - "Sunburst"
Ted Taforo (age 16) Mt. Shasta, CA - "In The Park"
Manuel Valera (age 26) Brooklyn, NY - "La Fragua"
Joshua Vande Hey (age 29) Leicestershire, UK - "Reasonance"
Ezra Weiss (age 26) Scottsdale, AZ - "For Heather"
The following ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers were recognized with Honorable Mention:
Jordan Baker (age 17) Alexandria, LA
Alexander A. Brown (age 19) Jamaica Plain, MA
Michael Dease (age 24) New York, NY
Ethan Herr (age 28) North Haledon, NJ
Eric Hirsh (age 22) Durham, NC
Randy Ingram (age 28) Brooklyn, NY
Stefan Schultze (age 27) New York, NY
Jaleel Shaw (age 28) Paterson, NJ