© Andrea Canter
When you
look at Critics Polls for jazz piano, two names that consistently rise to the
top these days are Craig Taborn and Vijay Iyer. The two have a lot in
common—around the same age; known for their inventive, on-the-spot
improvisations in solo and ensemble contexts; leaders of acclaimed groups and
recording projects; and favorites among cutting-edge musicians. And among their
projects is their own duo, yet to be recorded, but cross your fingers.
In the past
week or so, Iyer and Taborn have each received word of a prestigious (and well
deserverd) award.
Vijay Iyer, Doris Duke Performing
Artist Award
Vijay Iyer is among five jazz
artists named as the first group of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF)
Artists. Iyer joins Don Byron, Bill Frisell, John Hollenbeck and Nicole
Mitchell among a total of 21 performing artists (contemporary dance, jazz,
theatre, and multidisciplinary work) in a first class of three to be named
annually to receive unrestricted, multi-year grants totaling $225,000 each,
along with up to $50,000 for retirement funding and audience development. Creative Capital, DDCF’s primary partner in
the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards, will provide awardees with professional
development activities, financial and legal counseling, and grantee gatherings
to help maximize the awards.
Over the next decade, DDCF will
offer at least 200 artists the greatly expanded freedom to create, through an
initiative that makes available the largest allocation of unrestricted cash
grants ever given to individuals in contemporary dance, jazz, theatre, and
related fields. Provided to honorees through a rigorous, anonymous process of
peer review—no applications are accepted—the grants are not tied to any
specific project but are presented as investments in the artists’ personal and
professional development and future work. “To qualify for consideration by the
review panels, all of the Doris Duke Artists must have won grants, prizes or
awards on a national level for at least three different projects over the past
ten years, with at least one project having received support from a DDCF-funded
program. The first class of artists were chosen based on demonstrated evidence
of exceptional creativity, ongoing self-challenge and the continuing potential
to make significant contributions to their fields in the future.”
Recently named director of the Banff International
Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music and recipient of the
$30,000 Greenfield Prize by the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield
Foundation, Vijay Iyer has accumulated a number of prestigious awards and
commissions during his career. He was recently in the spotlight at the Walker
Art Center during a mini-festival of his music (“The Sound of Surprise”),
presenting, over two nights, compositions and arrangements in various solo, duo
and trio contexts.
Craig Taborn, Paul Acket Award
Every year,
the North Sea Jazz Festival presents its Paul Acket Award to “an artist
deserving wider recognition for their extraordinary musicianship.” Minnesota native Craig
Taborn, long a “talent deserving wider recognition,” will receive the Acket
Award at the 2012 festival. Some comments from the awards jurors sum it up
well:
Ken
Pickering (Vancouver International Jazz Festival) explains that “Craig Taborn
is unquestionably one of the most important pianists of his generation. In
great demand, Taborn improves every band he plays in, whether he's on piano or
keyboards. He is a complete musician and a great talent.” Frank van Berkel (Jazz International Rotterdam) adds, “With his music, Taborn creates a link from
jazz to contemporary music. Naturally, there have been more artists doing this,
but Taborn finds a way of shining in adventurous traditionalism together with
James Carter, but also in full concert halls and released on the label ECM.”
And Jean Jacques Goron, Vice President of the Foundation BNP Paribas which
supports the award, notes that “Besides being a piano, organ, and Moog
synthesizer player, primarily in jazz, Craig Taborn is also a great composer
and talented improviser. His last album, Avenging
Angel, released in 2011, is a distinguished contribution to the
great solo piano tradition and shows a very personal approach to his
instrument. We wish him all the best.”
The Paul
Acket Award recognizes artists already known within the jazz scene, but not yet
recognized by a wider audience. In
addition to a trophy, the Paul Acket Award winners also receive a cheque of
5000 euro to help further their careers. Past winners include Arve Hendriksen
(2011), Christian Scott (2010), Stefano Bollani (2009), Adam Rogers (2008),
Gianluca Petrella (2007), Conrad Herwig (2006), and Ben Allison (2005). The
award will be presented at this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival on July 7, when
Taborn will perform with PRISM, featuring Dave Holland, Kevin Eubanks and Eric
Harland.
