MacArthur Jazz Fellows

A younger jazz musician, Miguel Zenon, won a MacArthur Fellowship this year aka a "genius grant." The prestigious grant, $500,000 given quarterly over five years, is quite a prize and it comes with no strings attached - the recipient can spend the money however they would like. There is no application process - people are nominated and judged in a secret selection process. Here's a list jazz musicians who have won the award to date:

• Ran Blake
• Anthony Braxton
• Regina Carter
• Ornette Coleman
• Steve Lacy
• George E. Lewis
• Max Roach
• George Russell
• Gunther Schuller
• Cecil Taylor
• Ken Vandermark
• Miguel Zenon
• John Zorn

Looking at the list, there is definitely a leaning towards the avant-garde - I wonder what the nominators and judges look for? And who are these secret jazz fans doing the selecting?

"Your Urgent Help Needed"

Here's a funny spoof of Nigerian money scams:
http://angrybear.blogspot.com/2008/09/your-urgent-help-needed.html