Bay Area Jazz Writer Phil Elwood to Receive 2003 SFJAZZ Beacon Award
2003-09-05

San Francisco, CA...One of the Bay Area’s most esteemed critics, writer Phil Elwood will be the recipient of the 2003 SFJAZZ Beacon Award presented by See’s Candies, SFJAZZ Executive Director Randall Kline has announced. The annual award, now in its fourth year, is given to a member of the Bay Area jazz community who has played a vital role in preserving the traditions and encouraging the growth of jazz in the Bay Area. Last year’s recipient was pianist and educator Ed Kelly. The award is made possible by See’s Candies – a sponsor of the 2003 San Francisco Jazz Festival presented by Target – who will make a contribution of $5,000 to SFJAZZ education programs in the name of the Beacon Award recipient.

In honor of Phil Elwood’s decades of service to the Bay Area jazz community and beyond, SFJAZZ will present him with the Beacon Award onstage at the Herbst Theatre on Monday, November 3, in a San Francisco Jazz Festival concert. From his bully pulpit at the San Francisco Examiner and, later at the Chronicle, jazz critic Philip Elwood hipped Bay Area music fans to all the best and most of the rest for decades. In this gala tribute concert, the Festival presents a survey of the SF scene from throughout Elwood’s tenure: cornet man and Turk Murphy alum Leon Oakley and his band, blowing the timeless sounds of trad jazz; pianist Larry Vuckovich’s Young at Heart Band, playing the music of immortals Lester Young, Count Basie and Charlie Parker; smoky-voiced sensation Denise Perrier, putting the "Great" in the Great American Songbook; and renowned pianist Denny Zeitlin, showcasing his trademark "style, grace, and chops" (Elwood, SF Examiner) in his classic trio with bassist Mel Graves and drummer George Marsh; SF sax legend Mel Martin, performing with his great Bebop and Beyond Quartet; and rising-star Kim Nalley, whom Elwood dubbed "the best singer, any style, I’ve heard in years."

Charles N. Huggins, President and CEO of See’s Candies, said, "It is with a great deal of pride and pleasure that all of us at See’s Candies join with the San Francisco Jazz Festival in presenting the 2003 Beacon Award to the venerable Jazz critic, Phil Elwood."

"As a jazz columnist, and on his radio shows," Huggins continues, "Phil has so clearly made full use of his natural good taste and historical knowledge with which to educate and inform his audiences on the subject of the Jazz idiom as performed over the years in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

"His long devotion to the jazz education of the young students at Berkeley High School likewise stands out as one of the many highlights of his musical gifts to our community."

"Phil Elwood was simply the obvious choice to receive the Beacon Award this year," said SFJAZZ’s Kline. "As one of the country’s most esteemed jazz critics, he has played a vital role in the Bay Area’s music scene and has encouraged countless numbers of Bay Area musicians by spotlighting unknowns and rising stars alike."

About SFJAZZ: SFJAZZ is the leading non-profit jazz organization on the West Coast and the 6th largest performing arts organization in the Bay Area. Dedicated to encouraging the growth of jazz and jazz audiences in San Francisco and beyond, SFJAZZ presents a wealth of year-round programs, including the internationally acclaimed San Francisco Jazz Festival, the SFJAZZ Spring Season under the artistic direction of renowned saxophonist Joshua Redman, as well as numerous community outreach and education programs.

In Spring 2004, in conjunction with the SFJAZZ Spring Season, SFJAZZ will launch the SF Modern JAZZ Collective, an all-star resident jazz ensemble led by Joshua Redman. Featuring incomparable talents representing an array of generations, styles, and cultures – including Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Renee Rosnes, Josh Roseman, Brian Blade, Robert Hurst and Miguel Zenón – the SF Modern JAZZ Collective will be devoted to performing and building new audiences for the jazz sounds of the recent past and present.

All SFJAZZ programs reflect a spirit of artistic exploration, embracing the full breadth of jazz and its related music; emphasize thematic programming, with tributes to jazz masters and celebrations of particular musical instruments, trends or styles; and strive to instill enthusiasm for jazz among wider audiences.

For more information, the public may call 415/788-SFJF (7353) or visit www.sfjazz.org.

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