Roger Humphries Receives the 2022 Living Legacy Jazz Award Presented by PECO
Baltimore, July 19, 2022 – Percussionist, educator, and philanthropist Roger Humphries has been named the recipient of the 2022 Living Legacy Jazz Award Presented by PECO.
A program of Mid Atlantic Arts, the Living Legacy Jazz Award honors living jazz master artists residing in the mid-Atlantic region who have kept the spirit and tradition of this evolving art form alive, maintaining the vitality of jazz for future generations through advocacy, mentorship, and the transmission of artistic skill and cultural knowledge.
Romona Riscoe Benson, Director of Corporate Relations at PECO and Mid Atlantic Arts board chair said, “Roger Humphries is a legend in the field and a go-to for musicians looking for an extraordinary drummer to ground their recordings. I am delighted he has been selected by the peer panel to be recognized.”
Mid Atlantic Arts Executive Director, Theresa Colvin, added, “We are so pleased to return to an in-person event this year to honor Mr. Humphries and are grateful to the ‘Kimmel Cultural Campus for their continued support and partnership. We look forward to recognizing and celebrating such jazz standard-bearers in the mid-Atlantic region for years to come.”
Mr. Humphries will be celebrated on October 28, 2022 at a special event in his honor at the Kimmel Cultural Campus in Philadelphia. For event information, please visit: https://www.midatlanticarts.org/grants-programs/living-legacy-jazz-award/#this-year-s-event.
Roger Humphries career began early – by age 16 he was performing with his band at Carnegie Music Hall. He toured with the legendary Horace Silver Group and recorded three influential albums, including Song For My Father, Cape Verdean Blues, and Jody Grind, with them. He also toured Europe with the Ray Charles Big Band and Richard Groove Holmes. Mr. Humphries has appeared with Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Nancy Wilson, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, and many more. His distinguished career has included performances at the Village Gate and Apollo Theater in New York, Ronnie Scott’s in London, the Jazz Workshop in Boston, Shelly Manne’s Manhole in Los Angeles, and many other venues around the world.
For over 28 years, Mr. Humphries was an educator at the School of Performing Arts through the Pittsburgh Board of Education Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Program. The first and longest-serving percussion instructor at CAPA, his students have national and international acclaim in jazz and commercial idioms. Additionally, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh and multiple clinics at Slippery Rock University and Mellon Jazz Masters Class. He founded the Roger L. Humphries Music Scholarship Program for students in the arts, hosting an annual jazz cruise where scholarship recipients perform. The opportunity to nurture and develop the next generation of young musicians provides Mr. Humphries immense personal satisfaction.
His many honors include the inaugural JazzLive Legacy Award (2018); an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from West Virginia Wesleyan College (2019); the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Pennsylvania Arts Governor’s Awards (2019); and proclamations honoring his work from the State of Pennsylvania and City of Pittsburgh. Mr. Humphries is listed in the World Encyclopedia of Jazz, Downbeat Publishing Library, and a host of other media libraries.
Mr. Humphries is now traveling with RH Factor Jazz Quintet and the Roger Humphries Big Band. He has three albums, Don’t Give Up with his big band, This N’ That with his quintet, and his newest new release, Keep the Faith.
Our gratitude to Jazz Philadelphia who partnered with us to administer the 2023 Living Legacy Jazz Award nomination process.
Previous Living Legacy Jazz Award winners include Amina Claudine Myers, Charles Tolliver, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Odean Pope, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz, Joanne Brackeen, Nathan Davis, Muhal Richard Abrams, Phil Woods, Roy Haynes, Dr. Frank Foster, Kenny Barron, Benny Golson, Oliver Lake, Rufus Reid, Randy Weston, Keter Betts, Jimmy Heath, Joe Kennedy, Jr., Shirley Scott, Reggie Workman, Dr. Donald Byrd, Larry Ridley, Barry Harris, Robert “Boysie” Lowery, and Clark Terry. A Millennium Award was conferred on Dr. Billy Taylor in 2000.
Image: Roger Humphries. Credit: Ahmad Sandidge.
About PECO
PECO, founded in 1881, is Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO delivers energy to nearly 1.7 million electric customers and more than 545,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s 2,800 employees are dedicated to the safe and reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas as well as enhanced energy management conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. PECO is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the largest fully regulated utility company in the nation with more than 10 million customers. For more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.
About Mid Atlantic Arts
Mid Atlantic Arts nurtures and funds the creation and presentation of diverse artistic expression and connects people to meaningful arts experiences within our region and beyond. Created in 1979, Mid Atlantic Arts is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional, national, and international perspective. To learn more about Mid Atlantic Arts, its programs and services, visit our website at www.midatlanticarts.org.
Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts
410.539.6656 x104
karen@midatlanticarts.org