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Louis Armstrong Foundation Presents SATCHMO Award to George Coleman, January 7, 7:00 pm NEW YORK, NY, December 22, 2025 – The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) will present the world-renowned tenor saxophonist, bandleader and educator George Coleman with the 15th annual Satchmo™ Award for his spectacular seven decades of jazz musicianship and education at Dizzy’s Club, Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 7:00 pm. The Satchmo™ Award is a testament to Louis Armstrong’s enduring legacy, celebrating artists who, like him, have dedicated their lives to jazz. Coleman joins a list of renowned past award winners, including Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, Herb Alpert, Sheila Jordan and Reggie Workman. The event, held during the yearly Jazz Congress, a two-day series of workshops, panels and networking opportunities organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center, will feature the George Coleman Quintet with guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer George Coleman, Jr., pianist Steve Myerson and bassist John Webber, Throughout the concert will be special guest performances by saxophonists Eric Alexander, Adam Brenner, Sarah Hanahan, Alexander McCabe, Gideon Tazelaar and Camille Thurman. ABOUT GEORGE COLEMAN Born in Memphis on March 8, 1935, he grew up in one of the most musical cities in the world, with its vibrant blues, gospel, country, R&B and jazz scenes. His first instrument was the alto saxophone, and his first inspiration was Charlie Parker. He was proficient in all of styles of Black music, but it was in the jazz idiom where he would devote his talents for the rest of his life. Coleman established lifelong friendships with fellow jazz inspired classmates at Memphis’ Manassas High School, including trumpeter Booker Little and saxophonists Hank Crawford and Charles Lloyd. Coleman also played with several hometown musicians including bassist Jamil Nasser and pianist Phineas Newborn. At the age of 17, his first major gig was with Ray Charles, and he later worked with B.B. King. By that time Coleman switched to the tenor saxophone, and he later moved to Chicago, with Little in 1956, and worked with Max Roach, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and a host of other Chicago musicians. Coleman moved to New York City in 1958 and established himself as one of the premier musicians on his instrument. He replaced John Coltrane and preceded Wayne Shorter in Miles Davis’ band, and recorded on Davis’1963 and 1964 LP’s, Seven Steps to Heaven, Miles Davis in Europe, My Funny Valentine and Four & More, and on Herbie Hancock’s 1965 album Maiden Voyage. Those recordings solidified his reputation as a major saxophonist in the sixties. Coleman’s recordings as a sideman feature his work with Ahmad Jamal, Charles Mingus, Lee Morgan and Nicholas Payton. He recorded nearly 20 albums as a leader, including Amsterdam After Dark, Manhattan Panorama, A Master Speaks and Big George. He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2015. He also served as a consultant and teacher at the New School University, Long Island University, New York University, Mannes School of Music. ABOUT THE GEORGE COLEMAN QUINTET New York City guitarist Peter Bernstein has played with everyone from Coleman, Lou Donaldson, Sonny Rollins and David Fathead Newman to Bobby Hutcherson, Etta Jones and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Mentored by guitar master Ted Dunbar and the Prince of jazz piano Kenny Barron at Rutgers University, Bernstein represents the past, present and future of jazz guitar as a sideman, or as a leader with over 20 recordings, including his latest, Live at Smalls. Tutored by Max Roach, Harold Mabern, Michael Carvin and Jamil Nasser, drummer producer and filmmaker George Coleman, Jr. provides his father with the down home drumbeats that propels the saxophonist’s improvisational flights. In addition to his work with Coleman Sr, and his mother, composer, organist and vocalist Gloria Coleman, the drummer has been a sideman with an impressive array of musicians including Steve Myerson and saxophonist T.K. Blue. Coleman’s latest CD is entitled Resurgence and in 2019, he produced the documentary, Another Kind of Soul: The Coleman Family Legacy. Philadelphia pianist/keyboardist and William Paterson University jazz professor Steve Myerson plays with a swinging pianism that encompasses the straight ahead sounds of Harold Mabern and the soulful R&B of the Stylistics. In addition to his superb work in George Coleman’s rhythm section, Myerson has also worked with Christian McBride and Grover Washington, Jr. He’s released two albums as a leader: Ready or Not and In Your Absence. St. Louis-born, Chicago-reared bassist John Webber’s basslines rhythmically recall the greatness of bass masters Ray Brown and Paul Chambers. A student of Von Freeman and Brad Goode at Roosevelt University, Webber has been a sought-after sideman, as evidenced by his work with Coleman, Jimmy Cobb, Diana Krall and Eric Alexander. Webber’s 2014 album as a leader, Down for the Count is a rarity: it features George Coleman as a sideman and Webber on the six-string guitar. ABOUT SPECIAL GUESTS Chicago tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander was educated at William Patterson College, under the tutelage of Rufus Reid, Harold Mabern and Joe Lovano. In 1991, he finished in second place behind Joshua Redman at the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition. Alexander has recorded nearly 40 recordings as a leader. He’s released five albums in 2025: Leap of Faith, Like Sugar, Split Decision with alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, Chicago to New York and Lilac Wine - a Tribute to Helen Merrill, with vocalist Alma Micic. A worthy successor to George Coleman, Alexander’s raw-boned tenor sound is shaping the modern sound of the saxophone. A 1982 Rutgers University alum, tenor/alto saxophonist Adam Brenner honed his jazz skills playing in Newark, NJ with that city’s top musicians including drummer Eddie Gladden, vibraphonist Johnny Lytle and organist John Patton. Brenner has also worked with Lionel Hampton, Elvin Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Philly Joe Jones, Barry Harris and saxophonists Clifford Jordan and James Spaulding. He was a member of George Coleman’s Nonet, and he recorded on Coleman 1996 recording, Danger Hi Voltage. Alto saxophonist and Massachusetts native Sarah Hanahan was named the Number One Rising Star on Alto Saxophone in DownBeat’s 2025 International Critic’s Poll. Her debut album, Among Giants, earned a Five Star rating from that magazine, and was named Album of the Year. Hanahan was featured on the NPR-distributed series Jazz Night in America, and she worked with a wide variety of musicians including the Mingus Big Band, Peter Martin and Joe Farnsworth. Another alto saxophonist, Boston’s Alexander McCabe, has been based in New York City since the 80’s, McCabe’s fiery and finessed alto sounds are at home in a myriad of sonic settings including the Ray Charles Orchestra, Arturo O’ Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Big Band and George Coleman’s Octet. McCabe also worked with The Pointer Sisters, Mario Bauza and George Coleman, Jr. His music is featured in the films, The Diplomat, Succession and Nonnas. McCabe’s latest album is a five-tune EP, Children‘s Song. Dutch tenor saxophonist Gideon Tazelaar was a child prodigy who started playing the saxophone at the age of seven. Four years later, he turned pro, performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and was admitted to the Amsterdam Conservatoire at 14, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude four years later. Tazelaar moved to New York City in 2017 to attend Juilliard and study with Coleman and Wynton Marsalis. A budding saxophone master on two continents, Tazelaar has played with saxophonists Eric Alexander, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Dick Oatts. His 2020 release, Volume 1, features a quicksilver sextet with bassist Jorge Rossy. Tenor saxophonist/vocalist and New York City native Camille Thurman is one of the most inventive and resourceful musicians on the scene. An alumnus of the world-renowned Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, Binghamton University, and a finalist in the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, Thurman worked with Terri Lyne Carrington, Alicia Keys, Lalah Hathaway, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. Thurman’s 2024 recording, Confluence, Vol. 1: Alhambra with the Darrel Green Quartet, her fourth as a leader, is her latest project that documents Thurman’s double threat as an invigorating improviser and engaging singer. This evening is more than a musical event – it is a celebration of an enduring artist and the living legacy of musicians who follow in his footsteps. Tickets are $25.00-$55.00 and are available at ticketing.jazz.org. ABOUT LOUIS ARMSTRONG Hailed as one of the most influential and popular musicians in modern music, trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) rose out of poverty in New Orleans and became, in the words of music and cultural critic Albert Murray, “the Prometheus of jazz, ” as the genre’s first major soloist and vocalist, who invented scat-singing. Growing up in the Crescent City, Armstrong heard music from the Caribbean – especially Cuba – and was greatly influenced by the exceptional Cuban trumpeter Manuel Perez of the Olympia Brass Band. In 1930, Armstrong’s recording of the Cuban standard “El Manisero” (The Peanut Vendor)” sold a million copies and was a precursor to the birth of modern Latin jazz in the 1940’s by Bebop Pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, arranger/trumpeter Mario Bauza and percussionist Chano Pozo. Through the years, Louis entertained millions from heads of state, royalty to the kids on his stoop in Corona, NY. Despite his fame he remained a humble man and lived a simple life in a working-class neighborhood. To this day, everyone loves Louis Armstrong, and just the mention of his name makes people smile. ABOUT THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation Inc. was founded and funded by Louis and Lucille Armstrong in 1969 to “give back to the world some of the goodness he received.” The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to perpetuating the legacies of Louis and Lucille Armstrong throughout the world. Its mission includes supporting musicians, Jazz education, performances and programming. LAEF is a living legacy to “Satchmo” Louis Armstrong, the most important creative force in the early development and perpetuation of America’s music, Jazz. His influence, as an artist and cultural icon, is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today. www.louisarmstrongfoundation.org. SATCHMO™ AWARDS The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation awards represent a tribute to the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong's passion for jazz and excellence, matched only by his joyous love of life and children. Previous recipients are selected for their important and lasting contributions in the world of jazz education. They reflect the spirit of Louis Armstrong and his inspiring belief in the power of the language of jazz music, essential in making a “wonderful world.” Past Recipients: Herb Alpert, 2010; Barry Harris, 2011; Clark Terry, 2012; Jon Hendricks, 2013; David Baker, 2014; Norma Miller, 2015; Jimmy Heath, 2016; Kidd Jordan, 2017; Shelia Jordan, 2018; Dick Hyman, 2019; Ron Carter, 2020-2021; Ran Blake, 2022; Reggie Workman, 2023; JoAnne Brackeen, 2024. For more information, log on to: https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org, https://jazzcongress.org; https://jazz.org. # # # |
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