Kennedy Center Honors
Jazz musicians who received the Kennedy Center Honors: list of 25 recipients by year.
Recipients
| 2021 | Joni Mitchell Canadian musician |
| 2013 | Herbie Hancock American jazz pianist and composer (born 1940) |
| 2011 | Sonny Rollins American jazz saxophonist and composer (1930–2026) |
| 2009 | Dave Brubeck American jazz pianist and composer (1920–2012) |
| 2005 | Tony Bennett American singer (1926–2023) |
| 1998 | André Previn German-American conductor, pianist, and composer (1929–2019) |
| 1986 | Ray Charles American singer, pianist and songwriter (1930–2004) |
| 1984 | Lena Horne American singer, actress, dancer and activist (1917–2010) |
| 1981 | Count Basie American jazz musician and composer (1904–1984) |
| 1979 | Ella Fitzgerald American jazz singer (1917–1996) |
| 1979 | Aaron Copland American composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductor… |
| 1978 | Fred Astaire American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer (1899–1987) |
| — | Frank Sinatra American singer and actor (1915–1998) |
| — | Barbra Streisand American singer and actress (born 1942) |
| — | Quincy Jones American record producer and composer (1933–2024) |
| — | Yehudi Menuhin American violinist and conductor (1916–1999) |
| — | Gene Kelly American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer (1912–1996) |
| — | Carlos Santana American guitarist |
| — | Dizzy Gillespie American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993) |
| — | Benny Goodman American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (1909–1986) |
| — | Perry Como American singer, actor, television personality (1912-2001) |
| — | Sammy Davis Jr. American entertainer (1925–1990) |
| — | Benny Carter American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer… |
| — | Al Green American singer |
| — | Lionel Hampton American jazz musician (1908–2002) |