Jazz musicians who double or triple as educators, presenters and support-group organizers. Festival producers from Tucson to Northampton, from the San Diego-Tijuana Borderland to Guelph, Ontario. The writer and scholar who founded Jazz Appreciation Month, the Jazz Foundation of America’s Executive Director, and the woman whose persistence has paid off in greater opportunities and visibility for other women as players and stars.
These are some of the 29 Jazz Heroes from across North America that the Jazz Journalists Association announces today in its 25th annual recognition of “activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz.” See them all at JJAJazzAwards.org/2025-jazz-heroes.
Since 2001 the JJA has identified and hailed individuals from local jazz communities across America who go beyond their basic responsibilities to sustain and expand on musical activities. This year’s Jazz Heroes include:
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- Bobby Bradford, Los Angeles brassman who at age 90 continues to perform and lecture despite losing his home in the Altadina fires;
- Julián Plascencia, co-founder of the San Diego-Tijuana International Jazz Festival;
- John Edward Hasse, biographer of Duke Ellington, Wall Street Journal contributor, and Emeritus Curator of Music at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where 30 years ago he initiated April across the globe as Jazz Appreciation Month;
- Joe Petrucelli of the Jazz Foundation of America, who’s partnered with the Mellon Foundation on the new Jazz Legacy Fellowships for lifetime achievements;
- Ellen Seeling, now based in the Bay Area, whose steadfast playing — she broke the Latin Jazz gender biases — and advocacy for women won establishment of blind auditions for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and ever more recognition that women can and do play jazz — well!
Trumpeters abound this year: Besides Bradford and Seeling, there’s Gregory Davis of the Dirty Dozens Brass Band, booker of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival contemporary jazz stage, and Mark Rapp, whose ColaJazz non-profit has amped up the scene in Columbia, South Carolina. But rhythm rules: Drummer-percussionist Jazz Heroes include Alan Jones of Seattle, Kenny Horst of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Clare Church (also a saxophonist, vocalist and partner in a Denver metro venue with her husband, Pete Lewis), David Rivera of San Juan, Puerto Rico and washboard enthusiast Jerry Gordon of New York’s Capital District.
Vocalists Karla Harris (Atlanta), Pamela Hart (Austin) and Kim Tucker (Philadelphia) do a lot more than simply — but beautifully — sing. Stephanie Matthews (Columbus, Ohio) has adapted STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) into STEAM — adding “A” for “Arts.” Brinae Ali of Baltimore turns tap-dancing into a multi-dimensional modern form. John Foster is invaluable to operations of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Robert Radford has raised significant funds for Seattle jazz spheres. Amber Rogers and Daniel Bruce started a Cleveland jazz fest from scratch. And so on. The personality-profiles posted with portraits of each of the JJA’s 29 Jazz Heroes detail how they’ve distinguished themselves by leaning in to what jazz can do to inspire creativity, promote fellow-feeling and enhance life.
Others are:
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- Sheila Anderson, the Hang Queen of WBGO-FM
- Ruth Griggs, Northampton Jazz Festival
- Ajay Heble, International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation
- Khris Dodge, Tucson Jazz Festival
- Ralphe Armstrong, Detroit-boosting bassist
- Wes Lowe, beloved West Palm Beach jazz teacher)
The JJA believes Jazz Heroes are essential to the health of the overall jazz ecosystem, and supports local efforts to celebrate them. Details to follow for the JJA’s online Heroes event, April 17th, and local presentations of Jazz Hero certificates.
