Dorthaan Kirk, Newark’s First Lady of Jazz, Selected as a 2020 NEA Jazz Master

Kirk, along with fellow NEA Jazz Masters Bobby McFerrin, Roscoe Mitchell

and Reggie Workman, Will Be Honored at a Special Concert

at SF Jazz Center on April 2, 2020

If you missed yesterday’s exciting announcement that DORTHAAN KIRK was named a 2020 NEA Jazz Master for her work as a tireless advocate for Jazz, please click on this link: https://www.arts.gov/news/2019/national-endowment-arts-announces-2020-nea-jazz-masters

Dubbed Newark’s First Lady of Jazz, Dorthaan retired from WBGO Jazz 88.3 in 2018 after four decades as a founding employee of the award-winning public radio station in Newark. She continues to produce and book events throughout New Jersey; inspire and support young musicians through the Dorthaan Kirk Scholarship Opportunity Fund; serve as Consultant to New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC); head up Rokir Music Corp. to build upon the legacy of her late husband, Rahsaan Roland Kirk; book Bethany Baptist Church’s Jazz Vespers services, now for the 20th year; and offer her time and expertise to help secure the future of the art form. 

Stay tuned for more information on the Scholarship Opportunity Fund awards in the coming weeks.

Dorthaan Kirk, who will receive the 2020 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy at a concert at SF Jazz Center on April 2, 2020, will be honored with fellow NEA Jazz Masters Bobby McFerrin, Roscoe Mitchell and Reggie Workman.

About Dorthaan Kirk:

“I was absolutely stunned and speechless (I’m never speechless) when I learned I was receiving the award. What an honor to be in such great company of others that have received it and to be acknowledged in such a big way for the work I love to do in jazz. I will continue my work to the best of my ability as long as I’m allowed to.”

Dorthaan Kirk has been a major force at WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM, Newark Public Radio—the only full-time jazz format station in New York and New Jersey—working in various roles for more than four decades. Called “Newark’s First Lady of Jazz,” Kirk has been active as a curator and producer of jazz events primarily in and around Newark, New Jersey, and is an avid supporter of musicians and jazz education for children.

Kirk grew up in Texas and lived in California before moving to the East Coast in 1970 with husband Rahsaan Roland Kirk, a jazz great known for playing multiple horns simultaneously, whose career she managed. Kirk was already a jazz fan before marriage, but her husband introduced her to more musicians and new venues, and she became more knowledgeable about jazz history through him.

When her husband died unexpectedly in 1977 at age 41, Kirk wanted to continue to work in the jazz business. She was introduced to Bob Ottenhoff, who was working on getting the Newark Board of Education to transfer their underutilized broadcast license to create the first public radio station in New Jersey, as a full-time jazz station. Ottenhoff hired Kirk as one of the original employees that launched WBGO in 1979. Before retiring in 2018, Kirk was the special events and community relations coordinator; the curator of the station’s art gallery, which is open to the public; and managed the annual WBGO Jazz-a-thon as well as the WBGO Children’s Jazz Series, which offers free jazz concerts by top-name musicians specifically for young people since 1993.

Kirk has been active for decades in the Newark community presenting jazz events. In 2000, she coordinated with the Rev. Dr. M. William Howard Jr. of the Bethany Baptist Church in Newark to present free-of-charge monthly Jazz Vespers, live jazz events during the months from October to June, that have featured nationally renowned performers, such as Jimmy Heath, Jon Faddis, and Gregory Porter. Since 2012, Kirk has been the consultant producer for a monthly jazz brunch series titled Dorthaan’s Place in her honor at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Nico Kitchen & Bar in Newark. In addition to recruiting talent, she has also acted as master of ceremonies for these events.

She continues to be the keeper of the flame of her late husband’s musical legacy: managing his music; acting as administrator of his publishing company; and organizing special events in his honor, such as the tribute at St. Peter’s Church in New York City in December 2007.

Kirk has been the recipient of numerous awards from the City of East Orange, City of Newark, and New Jersey State Assembly for her community-based initiatives in the arts. In 2013, she received the Humanitarian Award from the American Conference on Diversity, Essex County Chapter. For her 80th birthday in 2018, the Dorthaan Kirk Scholarship Opportunity Fund was created to support jazz students in the Newark area.