Montreal, Friday, July 3, 2015 — American journalist and writer Bill Milkowski will be honoured today by the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, which will present him with the Bruce Lundvall Award. The trophy will be presented to him by André Ménard, artistic director and co-founder of the Festival, at a press conference which will be held today at 3 p.m. in the Salle Stevie Wonder of the Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan.
Bill Milkowski is the 7th recipient of the Bruce Lundvall Award created in 2009 during the Festival’s 30th edition and presented annually to an individual who has left a mark on the world of jazz or contributed to the development of the music, through the media, the concert or record industries.
Bill Milkowski is a New York City-based freelance writer who has been covering the jazz scene since 1980. He is currently a regular contributor to Down Beat, Jazziz and Absolute Sound magazines. His writing has also appeared frequently over the years in Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Guitar World, Modern Drummer, Drum! and Bass Player magazines. He is the author of “JACO: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius” (Backbeat Books), “Swing It: An Annotated History of Jive” (Billboard Books), “Rockers, Jazzbos & Visionaries” (Billboard Books) and co-author of “Here And Now: The Autobiography of Pat Martino” (Backbeat Books). He has written 500 sets of liner notes and has produced recordings for the Blue Note, Columbia, Concord and NYC Records label. Milkowski won the 2004 Helen Oakley Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Excellence in Magazine Writing, presented by the Jazz Journalists Association and also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Jazz Journalism, presented by the JJA in 2011.
Bill Milkowski will introduce the screenings of Jaco, presenting the world of bass guitar phenomenon Jaco Pastorius at Cinéma du Parc from July 3 to 5.
As winner of the Bruce Lundvall Award, Bill Milkowski follows in the footsteps of Jean-Philippe Allard (2014), Tommy LiPuma (2013), Michael Cuscuna (2012), George Wein (2011) Herman Leonard (2010), Bruce Lundvall (2009).
