San Francisco, CA May 15, 2012: Article on Award from JazzWest.com by Wayne Saroyan...

 

Multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer and educator Dr. John Calloway will be honored in a special concert and tribute on June 20 when he receives a local "Jazz Hero" award from a national jazz writers organization.

 

This year's "Jazz Hero" awards will be presented in conjunction with the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association's Jazz Awards honoring significant achievements in jazz music and journalism.

"Jazz Heroes" are activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz who have had significant impact in their local communities. Previous award winners include Bay Area jazz singer Ed Reed (2011), Jazzschool founder and director Susan Muscarella, record producer Orrin Keepnews, musician and educator Khalil Shaheed, guitarist Bruce Forman, educator Dr. Herb Wong, and publicist Terri Hinte.

 

Calloway will be feted June 20 in the second-floor Hall of Culture at the African American Cultural Arts Complex in San Francisco. The event, which runs from 6:30 until 8 pm, is free and open to the public, and will offer light appetizers, beverages and a musical performance by the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco who Calloway is the musical director.

 

Presenting the award this year will be JJA member and JazzWest editor/publisher Wayne Saroyan. Other testimonials and musical performances will be announced soon.

 

To learn more about the Jazz Journalists Association and this year's June 20 awards ceremony at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, please visit the organization'swebsite. Other satellite celebrations will take place in Chicago, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Boston, Philadelphia and other locations.

 

Nominees in 38 categories were chosen by the votes of the Professional Journalist Members of the Jazz Journalists Association, and were made on the basis of work done in calendar year 2011 (with the exception of Lifetime Achievement Awards categories, in which nominations are for a lifetime body of work).

 

Among the iconic jazz instrumentalists in this year's nominees: Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Gary Burton, Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, and John Scofield. Newly emerged talents such as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, pianist Craig Taborn, tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Esperanza Spalding, vibist Warren Wolf and drummer Eric Harland are also among the 2012 JJA nominees.

 

Here's a link to the complete list of this year's nominees.

 

Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer, Arranger & Educator 

 

Calloway is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, educator and a cornerstone of the Bay Area Latin and world music scenes since the 1970s. Adept at flute, piano, and percussion, John has collaborated with a who's-who of Bay Area jazz and Latin jazz innovators, including Jesus Diaz, Pete Escovedo, Mark Levine, Rebeca Mauleon, Marcus Shelby, Larry Vukovich and Wayne Wallace, along with his essential work as a collaborator for over three decades with five-time GRAMMY® nominee John Santos.

 

He's also performed with such internationally known artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Los Van Van, Orlando "Maraca" Valle, Max Roach, Arturo Sandoval, Omar Sosa and Israel "Cachao" Lopez.

 

"John touches lives one on one and he lives his values of community service and music education for all," says Arturo Riera, co-founder of the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble and a self-professed Bay Area cultural activist.

 

As a composer, arranger and performer, Dr. Calloway was an essential part of GRAMMY®- nominated recordings with the Machete Ensemble and Ritmo y Candela, and has an established record as an arranger/composer for many bands and ensembles across the country.

 

As a bandleader, John has led his own ensembles since the 1990s, releasing two CDs, "Diaspora" (2003, Bombo Music) and "The Code" (2007, Bombo Music) that featured Bay Area jazz and Latin musicians as well as Cuban artists Pancho Terry, Maraca and Omar Sosa. His sextet has performed at many of the major jazz festivals, including the Stanford, Monterey and San Jose Jazz festivals.

As an educator, John currently teaches courses in Latin American music and culture at San Francisco State University, where he founded and still directs the university's highly popular Afro-Cuban Ensemble.

 

Calloway is also a clinician at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and a longtime faculty member of JazzCampWest. For many years he served as program coordinator for PlazaCuba, a performing arts organization that offers courses in conjunction with the National School of the Arts in Havana, Cuba. Working with young musicians in the Bay Area, he is a founding member and musical director of the  Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, which provides free training and mentorship to students in Latin and jazz music.

 

John holds a B.A. in music from the City University of New York, an M.A. in music from San Francisco State University and a Doctorate in Education from the University of San Francisco. He currently serves as an Arts Commissioner for the City of San Francisco, and is on the advisory boards of the San Jose Jazz Society and the Arts Education Master Plan for the San Francisco School District.