Established in 1994, the Living Legacy Jazz Award honored living jazz master artists residing in the mid-Atlantic region who 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.
The Living Legacy Jazz Award Honorees include:
2023: Billy Hart
2022: Roger Humphries
2021: Amina Claudine Myers
2019: Charles Tolliver
2018: Toshiko Akiyoshi
2017: Odean Pope
2016: Ron Carter
2015: Gary Bartz
2014: Joanne Brackeen
2013: Nathan Davis
2012: Muhal Richard Abrams
2011: Phil Woods
2010: Roy Haynes
2009: Frank Foster
2008: Kenny Barron
2007: Benny Golson
2006: Oliver Lake
2005: Rufus Reid
2004: Randy Weston
2003: Keter Betts
2002: Jimmy Heath
2001: Joe Kennedy, Jr.
2000: Shirley Scott
1999: Reggie Workman
1998: Dr. Donald T. Byrd
1997: Larry Ridley
1996: Barry Harris
1995: Robert “Boysie” Lowery
1994: Clark Terry
Special Millennium Award given to Dr. Billy Taylor in 2000.