The Jazz Music Awards on Saturday, October 22, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre will become the first ever awards show to exclusively focus on Jazz, and will include performances from an impressive lineup of acclaimed artists under the musical direction of NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy Award-winning musician and composer Terri Lyne Carrington!

The event is a non-profit division of Jazz 91.9 WCLK at Clark Atlanta University and will present awards in eight distinct categories as well as six special honors. The first three categories are the Jazz Innovator Award, the Jazz Educator Award, and the Jazz Composer award while the rest are still yet to be announced.

British American stage and screen actor Delroy Lindo and Grammy and Tony Award-winning singer, songwriter, and actress Dee Dee Bridgewater will co-host the event, which will also feature musical performances from NEA Jazz Masters Dianne Reeves, Kenny Garrett, Ledisi, The Baylor Project, and jazz, gospel, and blues singer Lizz Wright. Additionally, a few of the Jazz Music Awards nominees, Jazzmeia Horn, Somi, Lindsey Webster, and Brian Bromberg, will showcase their musical skills.

The theme for the inaugural awards show is “Jazz Is The Culture,” and the event will kick-off with a performance from the husband and wife duo, The Baylor Project, who lead the field with three nominations. Following that is a musical tribute, “Songs of Social Justice,” featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater. Finally, McCoy Turner will posthumously receive the Jazz Legend Award and Kenny Garrett and Orrin Evans will honor his memory with a performance.

For more information, please visit https://jazzmusicawards.com/!