Our Take: NEA Jazz Masters at Sea?

Months ago, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced its Jazz Masters for 2026. The list included vocalist / composer Carmen Lundy, percussionist / composer Airto Moreira, keyboardist / producer Patrice Rushen and broadcaster Rhonda Hamilton. As has been the custom for years, the recipients are to be honored at a tribute concert. The event was slated for April ’26 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Political issues have caused that event to be postponed as the NEA searches for an appropriate location and time. Several ideas have been suggested, but I would like to throw our hat in the ring for consideration. Why not have the tribute take place on one of our cruises? We could easily accommodate the customary size of attendees and our technical crew could provide the ability for streaming the festivities around the world.

After all, the ceremony consists of a few people talking on stage and some live performances by great jazz musicians. I am pretty sure that our 26 years of cruises has taught us how to do that kind of show. We would do if for free, so there would be no cost to the NEA and we would pitch in on the production effort.

We pitched this idea to our own Lee Mergner who has the inside track on all jazz events and programs. He is running it up the flagpole, seeing if someone will salute, taking the pulse of the people in charge, and whatever other bromide you wish to use to describe “finding out if this works.” In the meantime, we are spitballing ways to entice the NEA to give us a shot at producing this event. On a personal note, I see this as the closest I will ever be to being an NEA Jazz Master. That is for sure.

All joking aside, honoring folks who are more than just a part of the jazz infrastructure would be a privilege. When you have a moment, look at the names of the folks who have been selected as a “Jazz Master.” With few exceptions, when you hear their names, your first thought is “jazz.” If there are holes in the honor roll, please know that the honor is not awarded posthumously. David Sanborn, Ken Peplowski and others will never be eligible.

Without naming them specifically, there are several of our favorite performers whose “eligibility” may be very limited. Again, on a no-name basis, several of us are working to push through two of those musicians right now. I hope we can “beat the clock” and get the job done.

I have heard several explanations as to why the honor of being a Jazz Master is only bestowed upon the living. As is the case with most heritage procedures, if the idea ever made sense, it most certainly does not do so now. Granted, as Mark Twain said, or at least he has been credited with saying, “no award is worth winning posthumously.” He is undoubtedly correct, but no one should be penalized for dying if he or she would otherwise qualify for the recognition.

If anyone reading this note (and that is customarily over 40,000 people) knows anyone at the NEA, please let them know how much you would like to see the NEA Jazz Master Tribute become a permanent event on The Jazz Cruise, our first sailing and a beacon of jazz life since 2001. One thing for sure, nearly all the 2,000 guests on that cruise each year are true Jazz Masters!

So, if the NEA looks the other way and chooses another site for the event, we will have our own ceremony and induct all our guests. The only problem is that an NEA Jazz Master is awarded a $25,000 stipend upon receiving the honor. That would be $50,000,000 in prize money. We might need some help with that.

By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea, Journey of Jazz, David Foster: The Hitman Cruise, Top Shelf Country Cruise and The Yacht Rock Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at michael@scecruises.com.

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Mathis Picard’s Preludes & Fugues Book 1

Pianist Mathis Picard, who has sailed on several of our jazz programs with Cyrille Aimee, Dee Dee Bridgewater and others, has released Preludes & Fugues Book 1, an original collection of twelve solo piano compositions.

Rooted in a compositional tradition stretching back to Bach and shaped by his roots in France, Madagascar, Manchester, and New York City, the tracks span all twelve keys with six preludes and six fugues, and one piece per key. 

“Solo piano represents the roots of where I’m coming from,” Mathis says. “It’s always been with me, from boarding school, from the pieces I was learning, from my personal relationship with music. The preludes and fugues format is a way to keep honoring that love.”

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Jon Hamar’s Musica Callada

Bassist Jon Hamar, who has sailed on The Jazz Cruise many times over the years as both an All-Star and as a member of Jeff Hamilton’s trios, has released Musica Callada, a duo recording with pianist Adrienne Fontenot.

The album features Jon’s arrangement of the title suite by Catalan composer Frederic Mompou, as well as compositions by David P. Jones, New Rorem and his friend and mentor John Clayton.

“Creating a more classically focused album has long been a dream of mine,” Jon explained. “Rather than drawing from the traditional double bass repertoire – music I grew up playing and still deeply love – I wanted to curate something different: a collection built around new works, or pieces simply new to the double bass. The result is, in my view, a deeply meditative and profoundly personal exploration of the solo instrument. Some selections lean classical, others drift toward jazz with moments of improvisation, and some resist easy categorization altogether.”

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Vote For Your Favorites in the SCE Reader’s Poll

In honor of Downbeat‘s 74th Annual Critics Poll, we decided to create our own jazz poll and have our guests vote for their favorite artists under the same ballot system. One catch. The artists on the ballot have all performed on our programs. This is not as limiting as it might first seem, because the roster of SCE artists is just plain remarkable and that’s not including the legendary artists who have passed, like Al Jarreau, Joe Sample, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Shirley Horn, David Sanborn, George Duke and so many more.

Click below to view the ballot. Please vote and let us know who you think deserves acclaim or even “wider recognition,” to use DownBeat’s term for emerging artists. To sweeten the pot, we’ll be giving a $200 onboard credit to one lucky entrant chosen at random.

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Signature Cruise Experiences Upcoming Programs

SCE Sailings in ’26

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