In an article about the Doris Duke Artist Awards 10th Anniversary Celebration, Nate Chinen, editorial director at NPR jazz station WRTI, reports on the elevation of the Doris Duke Artist Awards from “an award to a platform.” Chinen detailed the major announcements and highlights of the night, including the revelation that the awards program, which is the largest prize of its kind, is doubling in size to $550,000 each for this year’s recipients and all those going forward. Jazz musicians and composers Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and Somi Kakoma were spotlighted as among the six artists receiving the award. These artists and the other new awardees were announced at the Celebration, which took place on Feb. 13, 2023, at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Chinen writes: “Monday’s event — the first in-person ceremony in the award’s history, expertly hosted by the rapper Common — underscored that aspiration with extravagant flair. Joining the tenth anniversary class of Doris Duke Artists — jazz artists Adjuah and Kakoma; theater director Charlotte Brathwaite; dancer-choreographers Ayodele Casel and Rosy Simas; and playwright and performance artist Kristina Wong — were dozens of past awardees. Their number featured more than a few pacesetting jazz artists, including drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and John Hollenbeck, pianists Danilo Perez and Kris Davis, and vocalists Jen Shyu and Cécile McLorin Salvant.”
Chinen also detailed performances at the event, with special attention to those by inaugural recipients in the jazz category, Vijay Iyer and Nicole Mitchell.