Wycliffe Gordon / Wycliffe Gordon & Friends
Jazz Road Creative Residencies Grant Recipient
Recipient Information
Location
Macon, Georgia
Year of Award
2021
Grant or Fellowship
Jazz Road Creative Residencies Grant
Grant Amount
$40,000
About the Project
Gordon with partner Douglass Theatre hopes to foster a new jazz scene in Macon, GA by engaging students from local school districts and Fort Valley State University, as well as churches across Central Georgia. Gordon will provide instruction and performance opportunities to residency participants.
Residency location
Macon, GA
About the Artist
Wycliffe Gordon is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays. He has been featured on several magazines and presented with several awards and accolades:
- 2019 Sonny Award presented by Suncoast Jazz
- 2018 Presented with the “Louie Award” by the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
- 2017 International Trombone Association Award, which recognizes the highest level of creative and artistic achievement
- ASCAP Plus Award 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 for his contributions as a composer.
-Downbeat Magazine “Best Trombone” Award Six Times [2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013 and 2012]
-Jazz Journalists Association Award for Trombonist of the Year 13 times (2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2007,
2006, 2002, and 2001)
Wycliffe Gordon has also been honored in Augusta, GA, whereas August 17, 2007, the City of Augusta declared this as Wycliffe Gordon Day by proclamation authorized by Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver. He is also the youngest member of the U.S. Statesmen of Jazz (a touring ensemble featuring senior musicians), and in many tour performances continues to serve as a musical ambassador for the U.S. State Department.
Wycliffe Gordon has been recognized with the ASCAP Foundation Vanguard Award and awarded with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), and cited as a champion of our music – a music that models the ideals of democracy through its performance demands for positive and productive interaction, honest communication, and commonality of soul; a music that celebrates triumph of the human spirit over adversity. He is the current director of Jazz Studies at Augusta University.