Maria Schneider Sweeps 5 Categories At 2016 Jazz Awards

It’s the year of the woman at the 2016 Jazz Awards with Maria Schneider becoming the first artist ever to sweep five categories.

Schneider topped the balloting for musician of the year and best album for The Thompson Fields. She also won for composer, arranger and best large ensemble in voting among members of the Jazz Journalists Association.

Female jazz instrumentalists were more prominent than ever among the winners announced late Sunday, including Israeli-born Anat Cohen (clarinetist and multi-reeds player), Regina Carter (violinist), Mary Halvorson (guitarist), Nicole Mitchell (flutist), Jane Ira Bloom (soprano saxophonist), and Myra Melford (midsize ensemble).

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Henry Threadgill, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music, received the award for lifetime achievement in jazz. Saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who released the critically acclaimed triple album The Epic, was chosen up and coming artist of the year.