This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2021.
Events
January January 14 – The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll rates Maria Schneider's Data Lords as the best album of 2020.
February March March 14 - The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards occur.2020 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List: 2020 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List, accessdate: June 1, 2023 Jazz winners include: Kurt Elling wins Best Jazz Vocal Album for his 2019 album Secrets are the Best Stories Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade win Best Jazz Instrumental Album for their 2021 album Trilogy 22021 GRAMMY Awards Show: Chick Corea Wins Best Improvised Jazz Solo & Best Jazz Instrumental Album | 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show, accessdate: May 23, 2023 The Maria Schneider Orchestra wins Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for its 2020 album Data Lords Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra win Best Latin Jazz Album for their album Four Questions
April May June July July 30 - Shabaka Hutchings from Sons Of Kemet founds a new UK Jazz record label, "Native Rebel Recordings"Music Week: Sons Of Kemet's Shabaka Hutchings on his new label | Labels | Music Week, accessdate: May 23, 2023 July 30-August 1 – The Newport Jazz Festival takes place in the US state of Rhode Island. Performers include Gerald Clayton, Charles Lloyd, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, Kamasi Washington and Brandee Younger.
August September October
October 21 - Takuya Kuroda releases "Midnight Crisp"
November
December December 4 - Promises (Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra album) is named album of the year 2021 by TIME magazine
Albums MonthDayAlbumArtistLabelNotesRef.March5FlorGretchen ParlatoEdition RecordsReceived nomination for Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal AlbumRoad to the SunPat MethenySony BMG26 Daring Mind Jihye Lee Orchestra Motema Music 26 Promises Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra Luaka Bop April9Uneasy (album)Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn SoreyECM RecordsMay14 Black To The Future Sons Of Kemet Impulse! Records 28Another LandDave HollandEdition Recordswith Kevin Eubanks and Obed CalvaireNafs at PeaceJaubiAstigmatic RecordsJune11SquintJulian LageBlue Note RecordsJuly9Now PronouncingCaity GyorgyAwarded Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the YearAugust20Martian KittiesGordon Grdina and Jim Black27Sounds from the AncestorsKenny GarrettMack Avenue RecordsSeptember3Kinds of LoveRenee RosnesSmoke Sessions Records10 Side-Eye (V1. IV) Pat Metheny BMG Modern Recordings 14 The Cave Of Winds Tony Malaby Pyroclastic 24Songwrights Apothecary LabEsperanza SpaldingConcord RecordsAwarded Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal AlbumOctober8SuperBlueKurt EllingEdition RecordsNovember12CrisisLouis HayesSavant Records19A Love Sonnet for Billie HolidayJack DeJohnette, Vijay Iyer, Wadada Leo SmithTUM RecordsDecember3 New Standards Kenny G Concord Records
Deaths January 6 – Bobby Few, 85, American jazz pianist January 17 – Sammy Nestico, 96, American composer and arranger January 20 – Keith Nichols, 75, British instrumentalist and bandleader (COVID-19) January 23 – Jonas Gwangwa, 83, South African jazz trombonist February 9 – Chick Corea, 79, American pianist, composer and bandleader February 12 – Milford Graves, 79, American drummer and polymath March 2 – Chris Barber, 90, British bandleader and trombonist March 7 – Josky Kiambukuta, 72, Congolese singer (TPOK Jazz) March 8 – Julien-François Zbinden, 103, Swiss composer and jazz pianist March 10 – János Gonda, 89, Hungarian jazz pianist March 19 – Cristián Cuturrufo, 48, Chilean jazz trumpeter (COVID-19) March 28 – Malcolm Cecil, 84, British jazz bassist and record producer April 7 – Sonny Simmons, 87, American jazz saxophonist May 8 – Curtis Fuller, 88, American jazz trombonist May 15 – Mario Pavone, 80, American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader June 21 – Nobuo Hara, 94, Japanese saxophonistジャズのサックス奏者・原信夫さん死去、94歳...「シャープス&フラッツ」リーダー July 4 – Rick Laird, 80, Irish jazz bassist (Mahavishnu Orchestra) July 31 – Jerzy Matuszkiewicz, 93, Polish jazz musician and composer August 28 – Francesc Burrull, 86, Spanish musician and composer September 16 –George Mraz, 77, Czech-American jazz bassist September 28 - Dr. Lonnie Smith, 79, American jazz Hammond B3 organist October 18 – Franco Cerri, 95, Italian jazz guitarist. November 1 – Pat Martino, 77, American jazz guitarist. November 18 - Slide Hampton, 89, American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. December 8 - Barry Harris, 91, American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator
See also
List of 2021 albums List of jazz festivals List of years in jazz 2020s in jazz 2021 in music
References