Don’t miss the second in our series of New Mexico Jazz Festival Online Video Events, Meet the NEA Jazz Master featuring a real-time conversation (recorded last week!) with retired NEA Deputy Chairman, poet and author, A.B. Spellman, and legendary drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who was named an NEA Jazz Master this year! We began our New Mexico Jazz Festival virtual events last December 2020 with a 7th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival Revisited presentation featuring recorded material culled from the 2012 New Mexico Jazz Festival. In the absence of live concerts, we are offering these special events as a special treat and they have really been terrific! The Meet the NEA Jazz Master event went live on February 19 and will be available for viewing through Saturday, March 6, 2021! CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION!
A.B. Spellman has been an integral part the New Mexico Jazz Festival since its inception in 2006, presenting a “Meet the NEA Jazz Masters” conversation at the Lensic every year. He has spoken with Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Paquito D’Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, John Hendricks & Sheila Jordan, Kenny Barron & Dave Holland, and so many more, including Albert “Tootie” Heath’s older brother, saxophonist Jimmy Heath in 2010. In that conversation, A.B. pointed to “Tootie” in the audience and said, “Tootie certainly deserves to be named an NEA Jazz Master as well.” Well, this year, that well deserved honor came to fruition! So, it seemed fitting to do a Meet The NEA Jazz Master virtual conversation as part of our series and we were so pleased that both Mr. Spellman and Mr. Heath were willing and able to make it happen!
Produced by Reinhard Lorenz of First Eye Films and Outpost Founder & Executive Director, Tom Guralnick, this event is made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Kaman Foundation; The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and the City of Albuquerque, and we thank our sponsors, Lynn Slade & Susan Zimmerman.
AND….Stay Tuned For More New Mexico Jazz Festival Revisited Video Productions in the coming months!