Comments on: Kennedy Center Honors: Where’s Sonny?

By: Patrick O'Connor

Patrick O'Connor — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 18:48:30 +0000

In a bit late on this but the big miss it seems to me is Thelonius Monk who died in 1982. Also Mel Torme, who passed in 1999.

By: Kennedy Center Honors: Still No Sonny! | jazzcollector.com

Kennedy Center Honors: Still No Sonny! | jazzcollector.com — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:44:00 +0000

[…] piece bemoaning the fact that the Kennedy Center Honors last year once again failed to honor Sonny: Kennedy Center Honors: Where’s Sonny? So just for the hell of it, I went over to the site for the Kennedy Center Honors and it turns out […]

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:36:49 +0000

One last thing to point out… It’s also the 50th Anniversary of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out. One of the most influential / well-known Jazz albums of all time, next to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. (I suspect this along with my other comments above played a small part in the decision this year.) year.)

By: Al

Al — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:44:46 +0000

OK — here’s the actual list:

Ella Fitzgerald
Count Basie
Benny Goodman
Ray Charles
Dizzy Gillespie
Lionel Hampton
Benny Carter
Quincy Jones
Dave Brubeck

You can quibble with Ray Charles as a jazzman and Quincy gets it for his producing, I guess. I’m trying to figure where Benny Carter fits in on that list.

By: bethellodge

bethellodge — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:27:18 +0000

Attaboy Rudolph.

Lest we forgot Herb Alpert…

By: Rudolf A. Flinterman

Rudolf A. Flinterman — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:24:11 +0000

I go for:
Sharkey Bonano
Al Hirt
Billy May
They brought the gospel to millions of Americans and they, more than anyone else, deserve the award for their never lasting efforts to bring decent music to decent people.
Forget about Lee Konitz and Sonny. Their followers are a weird group extremists. Dangerous people, to be avoided at all price.

By: bethellodge

bethellodge — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:53:39 +0000

OH!!! DIZZY?? He lived into the 90’s didn’t he?

By: Geraint

Geraint — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:55:22 +0000

I’m not really in touch with American popular culture – how widely known were Count Basie, Oscar Peterson & Buddy Rich (he did appear on the Muppet Show!)?
Is it just performers who are acknowledged? Norman Granz, Alfred Lion, Bob Weinstock, etc made huge ‘contributions to the American performing arts’ – we wouldn’t be on this forum without them! (but I’d be very surprised if they’ve been recognised)

By: Al

Al — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:16:49 +0000

To Ian Thomas: Ella, yes. She was the first of the jazz artists honored and was honored in the second year of the award. — al

By: Al

Al — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:11:21 +0000

Yes, Geraint, it is people who had a lot of success commercially and are well known beyond the jazz community. Not Nina Simone and certainly not David Sanborn. Think a lot bigger than that in terms of popular culture in America.