NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis introduces Legends of Jazz

The producers of the critically-acclaimed 2006-2007 Public Television series Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis have captured another stellar group of artists in a brand new special, LEGENDS OF JAZZ presents The 2007 NEA Jazz Masters. More

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About the Artist Leroy Neiman

Leroy Neiman is best known for his brilliantly colored, energetic images of sporting events and leisure activities. He was the official artist at five Olympiads. Millions of people have watched him at work: on ABC TV coverage of the Olympics, as CBS Super Bowl computer artist, and at other major competitions, televised on location with his sketchbook and drawing materials.

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JAM Program Manager

Joann Stevens is a seasoned communications strategist, program manager, writer, and public relations professional whose skills have helped propel diverse nonprofits to new levels of public recognition, capacity building, and financial sustainability.  She has held leadership positions with The Executive Leadership Council, a member organization of the most senior African-American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies; Special Olympics International with Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver; the National Urban Coalition; The George Washington University; the Association of American Colleges and Universities; the Washington Post; and the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Ms. Stevens developed an early love for jazz, folk music and the arts participating in educational and cultural enrichment programs at school, the Police Athletic League, Lincoln Center and by performing with her brother, jazz trumpeter Eddie Gale.  Two albums they recorded on Blue Note Records—Ghetto Music and Black Rhythm Happening—have gained renewed interest.
 
She is the co-author of two books— Bind Us Together, the autobiography of Bishop John Meares; and In Goode Faith, the autobiography of Wilson Goode, Philadelphia’s first black mayor, winner of the Gustav Meyer Award as one of the nation’s leading books on intolerance—and a contributor to Sister to Sister: Devotions for and From African American Women.

Ms. Stevens earned a B.A. in sociology from Syracuse University and a M.A. in journalism, with concentrations in urban affairs and religion, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

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You can email us: jazz@si.edu