Archie Shepp in 2008 (Photo: Henryk Kotowski)

Last week, the NEA announced the 2016 Jazz Masters as Pharoah Sanders, Gary Burton, Wendy Oxenhorn, and Archie Shepp. It’s a wonderfully deserving set of artists and advocates.

For those unfamiliar with Oxenhorn’s work, she has tirelessly worked as an advocate supporting artists in need through her efforts with the Jazz Foundation of America. Taking the role of executive director in 2000, Oxenhorn has achieved extraordinary success with the organization, raising millions in support of artists.

The remaining three Jazz Masters – Burton, Sanders, and Shepp – each made exceptional achievements in the music. We invite you to listen to some of their musical achievements on a Spotify playlist we’ve created. You’ll hear mastery of Fusion, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, and much much more in these musicians’ output, and we invite you to dig deeper!

Want to check out more from them? Here’s a starting point: Learn more about the Jazz Foundation and Wendy’s work by subscribing to their YouTube channel. Two of Gary Burton’s best albums–Country Roads & Other Places and also Duster are not available on Spotify, but are well worth finding. Pharoah Sanders’ gorgeous album Moon Child is a wonderful one to search for. And lastly, keep your ears out for Archie Shepp’s Poem for Malcolm, which pairs him with artists ranging from Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones to Malachi Favors.