HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will honor two jazz greats Wednesday night during a new lifetime achievement Grammy event.
The Grammy Salute To Jazz will honor trumpeter Clark Terry and composer-bandleader Gerald Wilson. The Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble also will perform during the ceremony at the Knitting Factory Club in Hollywood.
NARAS President Neil Portnow said: "The Salute To Jazz, which we are initiating this year, realizes a personal and an academy goal. It is a site-specific event that perfectly complements our week-long Grammy celebration."
Terry, a distinctive soloist who shifted to flugelhorn in the 1950s, is noted for his "Mumbles" vocals that started as a satire of the less intelligible ancient blues singers. He gained early experience playing trumpet in the early '40s St. Louis jazz scene, where he was an inspiration for Miles Davis and later became a mainstay in the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
For more than 50 years, the Los Angeles-based Wilson has been recognized as one of the premiere composers, arrangers and bandleaders in modern jazz. Wilson, now 85, has garnered his share of accolades, including five Grammy nominations. In 1996 his life work was archived by the Library of Congress.
