photos by Tanisha Walker for In God’s Image Makeup Artistry and Photography
red chair & flowered gown images by Chi Brown
LENORA HELM HAMMONDS NAMED A LIFETIME ACHIEVER BY MARQUIS WHO’S WHO
MS. HELM HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY MARQUIS WHO’S WHO AS A LEADER IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Throughout her 40+-year span of musical achievements as a Jazz Vocal Musician specializing in Classic, Traditional standard jazz, Lenora (Zenzalai) Helm Hammonds has toured, recorded, and performed with renowned artists around the world. Her career as a vocal musician has encompassed time as a lyricist, guest artist, background singer, composer, and educator at North Carolina Central University. A 2018 inaugural Javett International Scholar in Jazz for University of Pretoria, during her time as a musician, Helm Hammonds has earned recognition as: a quarter-finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year Award, a Salzburg Global Citizenship Fellow, a UNC Global Educator Fellow, a Fulbright Senior Music Specialist, and the former US Jazz Ambassador under the State Department and Kennedy Center. Leadership roles in jazz include, Vice President, Area Unit Leadership, North Carolina, for Jazz Education Network (JEN). Additionally, she is a member of the esteemed Jazz Vocal Advisory Board for Juilliard Jazz, Juilliard, NYC, and is vocal jazz faculty during summers for Brevard Jazz Institute, Brevard, NC..
Lenora on the red carpet at the inaugural Jazz Music Awards, October 2022
(Atlanta, GA – August 25, 2022) – The global awards ceremony to exclusively celebrate Jazz music, The Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz, and its creator and executive producer, Wendy F. Williams announced the recipients of six honorary awards and the nominees in eight competitive award categories. These special honors, as well as the thirty-three nominees, recognize individuals who have made – and continue to make – a lasting contribution to this American art form. Finalists in each category are the result of the first round of nominations submitted during the eligibility period from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. These well-deserved honors will be presented at the Jazz Music Awards ceremony, set for Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, GA. Tickets are on sale now, click here for further details. The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter; the Jazz Legend Award will be presented to the family of the late pianist and composer McCoy Tyner. There are three Awards of Distinction categories: Innovator, Composer, and Educator. Modern jazz trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire will receive the Jazz Innovator Award; avant-garde saxophonist and woodwinds player and composer Henry Threadgill will be honored with the Jazz Composer Award; vocalist and composer, Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds will receive the Jazz Educator Award; and veteran musician and educator James H. Patterson will receive the Jazz Impact Award.
“A BLEND OF WIRY STRENGTH AND ETHEREAL CHARM THAT SET HER APART FROM THE FEMALE VOCALISTS CROWDING THE JAZZ SCENE... WITHOUT COMPROMISING HER DEBT TO THE MOST STRINGENT JAZZ GRAMMAR, HER LIGHT-AGAINST-DARK PHRASING REVEALED A LOVE OF POP AND SOUL THAT GAVE FRESH, HEARTFELT MEANING...
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RELEASE DATE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2023
Music should feel good!
Tribe Jazz Orchestra
