NEA Jazz Masters 2009

Each year, The National Endowment of the Arts bestows upon certain jazz masters what is considered the highest honor in jazz. Each recipient is awarded a $25,000 grant. The list of 2009 recipients consists of drummer Jimmy Cobb, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, guitarist and vocalist George Benson (pictured), trumpeter "Snooky" Young, harmonica player "Toots" Thielemans, and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

• Jimmy Cobb - best known for recording on Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. His sparse and minimalistic groove defines his sound, and he has worked with virtually all of the legends of jazz.
• Lee Konitz - rose to fame under the tutelage of pianist Lennie Tristano in the late 1940s. He has performed internationally for over 50 years.
• George Benson - establishing a career as a jazz guitarist as a young man, recording with organists Lonnie Smith and "Brother" Jack McDuff. Benson has since crossed over into pop and R&B, for which he is more famous.
• "Snooky" Young - a trumpeter who has played with the Jimmie Lunceford band, the Count Basie orchestra, the Lionel Hampton band, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.
• "Toots" Thielemans - began his career as a guitarist in Belgium, but is best known for his virtuosic harmonica playing. He can be heard with major jazz artists and on famous movie scores such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
• Rudy Van Gelder - considered the most important recording engineer in jazz, Van Gelder is responsible for the great recording quality of albums by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and many others.

Each recipient has made significant contributions to jazz, although among jazz bloggers there is some degree of controversy over George Benson being named, perhaps because of his commercial success and his relatively young age (he is 65, 14 years younger than the next youngest recipient, Jimmy Cobb).

The 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award recipients will be honored with a ceremony on October 17th, 2008 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, including a performance by the LCJO.

Photo Courtesy of Sean Gardner / Getty Images