Roy Haynes © Andrea Canter

Featured performers at the Jazz Awards party included the Dewey Redman Ensemble; the Sy Johnson Quartet with Craig Handy; T.C. III, Anheuser-Busch/Jazzmobile vocal competition winner; Pianist Ezra Weiss Sextet with Michael Mossman, trumpet; Antonio Hart, alto sax; Kelly Roberge, tenor saxophone; Corcoran Holt, bass; performing EW's ASCAP Young Jazz Composers competition winner "Winter Machine".

Attending the event were Lee Konitz, Jason Moran, Marian McPartland, Miguel Zenon, Kenny Barron, Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, Dafnis Prieto, Andrew Hill, Giacomo Gates, Edsel Gomez, Sue Mingus, Marty Ehrlich, Roswell Rudd, Clare Daly, Lew Tabackin, Sam Rivers, Jamie Baum, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Henry Grimes, Chris Barretto, Maria Schneider, and many members of jazz recording industry, publications staffs, broadcasting outlets and educational institutions.

The Jazz Awards are presented in 41 categories, including Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and in Jazz Journalism, and also honor jazz advocates, activists, altruists, aiders and abettors in an "A Team" selected by an executive committee of the JJA's freelance writers, photographers, broadcasters, educators and website creators. All nominees are invited guests at the party at B.B. King's, a fundraiser supporting the non-profit JJA's education, audience-outreach and professional mentoring initiatives.

2006 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards Winners

Maria Schneider

• Roy Haynes

2. Musician of the Year

• Sonny Rollins

3. Up & Coming Musician of the Year

• Dafnis Prieto

4. Jazz Album of the Year

• Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane,Carnegie Hall 1957 (Blue Note)

5. Single CD Reissue of the Year

• Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman, Song X (Nonesuch)

6. Boxed Set Reissue of the Year

• Miles Davis, The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (Columbia/Legacy), original sessions produced by Teo Macero, produced for release by Teo Macero and Stan Tonkel

7. Record Label of the Year

• Concord/Fantasy/Telarc

8. Events Producer of the Year

• George Wein, Festival Productions

9. Composer of the Year

• Andrew Hill

Toots Thielemans © Howard A. Gitelson

• Maria Schneider

11. Male Singer of the Year

• Kurt Elling

12. Female Singer of the Year

• Dianne Reeves

13. Latin Jazz Album of the Year

• Bebo Valdes, Bebo de Cuba (Calle 54)

14. Small Ensemble of the Year (< 9 pieces)

• Wayne Shorter Quartet

15. Large Ensemble of the Year (9+ pieces)

• Gerald Wilson Orchestra

16. Trumpeter of the Year

• Dave Douglas

17. Trombonist of the Year

• Wycliffe Gordon

18. Player of the Year of Instruments Rare in Jazz

• Toots Thielemans (harmonica)

19. Alto Saxophonist of the Year

• Phil Woods

20. Tenor Saxophonist of the Year

• Sonny Rollins

21. Soprano Saxophonist of the Year

• Jane Ira Bloom

22. Baritone Saxophonist of the Year

• James Carter

23. Clarinetist of the Year

• Paquito D'Rivera

24. Flutist of the Year

• Sam Rivers

25. Pianist of the Year

• Bill Charlap

Joey DeFrancesco © Howard A. Gitelson

• Joey DeFrancesco

27. Guitarist of the Year

• Jim Hall

28. Acoustic Bassist of the Year

• Ron Carter

29. Electric Bassist of the Year

• Christian McBride

30. Strings Player of the Year

• Regina Carter

31. Mallets Player of the Year

• Joe Locke

32. Percussionist of the Year

• Ray Barretto

33. Drummer of the Year

• Paul Motian

Jazz Journalism Categories

1. Jazz Journalism Lifetime Achievement Award (past winners: Whitney Balliett, Stanley Dance, Gary Giddins, Nat Hentoff, Ira Gitler, Dan Morgenstern, Bob Blumenthal)

• Howard Mandel

2. Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Excellence in Jazz Broadcasting (past winners: Neil Tesser, Marian McPartland, Dr. Billy Taylor, Phil Schaap, Michael Bourne, Kenny Washington, Alyn Shipton, Steve Schwartz, Rhonda Hamilton)

• Eric Jackson (WGBH-FM, Boston)

Best Photo of the Year winner © Gene Martin

• Jimmy Katz

4. Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award - Excellence in Newspaper, Magazine or Online Writing (past winners: Gary Giddins, Howard Mandel, Bill Milkowski, Ben Ratliff)

• Nate Chinen

5. Best Periodical Covering Jazz

• JazzTimes

6. Best Website Concentrating on Jazz

• AllAboutJazz.com

7. Best Book About Jazz

• Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond (Parkside), by Doug Ramsey

8. Best Photo of the Year

• Photographer: Gene Martin

Celebrity photographer and JJA member Gene Martin shot this image of tenor man Houston Person for the cover of Houston's CD, "All Soul", on HighNote Records. www.genemartinphotography.com