Los Angeles, CA (September 3, 2010)–Grammy Award-winning musician Poncho Sanchez will be honored by the Los Angeles Jazz Society on Sunday, October 10, at the Marriott Downtown Hotel.
The Los Angeles Jazz Society’s (LAJS) 27th Annual Jazz Tribute Awards Dinner & Concert will honor Sanchez with the organization’s Jazz Tribute Award. Pianist and composer Mike Melvoin will also receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from LAJS during the event, which raises money to promote music education, and the legacy of jazz, throughout Los Angeles.
Legendary sports icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will present Sanchez with his award during ceremonies, which will also honor Dee Dee Bridgewater (Jazz Vocalist Award), Bill Cunliffe (Jazz Composer/Arranger Award), Anita E. Berry (Teri Merrill-Aarons Founders Award), John Mosley (Jazz Educator Award) and Chloe Feoranzo (Shelly Manne Memorial New Talent Award). Master of Ceremonies Leonard Maltin will preside over the gala, for which Norman Lear is Honorary Tribute Chair, the Herb Alpert Foundation is Tribute Host, and Lois Saffian is Event Chair.
Regarding this year’s event, LAJS president Florence “Flip” Manne said, “We are thrilled to be honoring the greatest Latin jazz artist living today–Poncho Sanchez–concurrently with the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the Los Angeles Jazz Society. We are certain that this year’s event will be a huge success. We truly look forward to our next 25 years of promoting and nurturing jazz throughout all of the communities in Los Angeles.”
Many of the 2010 LAJS Honorees will perform at the gala, promoted as a Night of Live Jazz not to be Missed and featuring over one-and-a-half hours of live music, including the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Dee Dee Bridgewater with pianist, Bill Cunliffe with his all-star big band performing his 2010 Grammy-winning West Side Story arrangement, the Mike Melvoin Trio, and Chloe Feoranzo Saxophone, with trio.
Los Angeles Jazz Society
www.lajazz.org
