The New Orleans chapter of the Jazz Journalists Association will present vocalist and veteran music educator Germaine Bazzle with the JJA’s 2016 Jazz Hero Award on Wednesday, April 20, at the Prime Example (1909 N. Broad St.) at 6 p.m.

Presented in communities across the country each April in conjunction with Jazz Appreciation Month, the award recognizes advocates for jazz who have gone beyond the call of duty in supporting the music within their local communities.

Bazzle, who was recently honored with OffBeat’s Lifetime Achievement in Music Education award, was chosen by the JJA for her fierce belief in the value of music education—something she made a priority over the course of the 50-plus years she spent devoted to teaching young musicians.

“As a music educator at Xavier Prep, [Bazzle’s] efforts opened the door for generations of young women to discover and engage with jazz,” the JJA said in a press release announcing the award this spring. “She’s played an active role in the esteemed Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong summer jazz camp for nearly 20 years … she’s also made a point of focusing on the bigger picture of what music education can do for a young person” in life outside of music.

The Jazz Journalists Association is a national organization of writers, broadcasters, photographers and web-based media professionals who share an interest in supporting and promoting jazz. The JJA nominates honorees each year in a variety of music performance categories, while the Jazz Hero award is generally reserved for people whose contributions to jazz occur offstage. In nominating Jazz Heroes, New Orleans’ JJA representatives—which includes a number OffBeat writers—have made a concerted effort in recent years to focus on musicians whose work in jazz extends beyond their own music.

The Jazz Hero award presentation is free and open to the public.