The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 23 new winners of the so-called "genius awards." The recipients were notified yesterday through a phone call "out of the blue" from the Foundation; all will receive $100,000 a year for five years, no strings attached. The winners include David Simon, creator of The Wire and Treme; writer Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in History; jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran; and theater director David Cromer, whose terrific Off-Broadway revival of Our Town won a slew of awards. "It robs me of my greatest excuse for everything—I’m broke," Cromer tells the Times. more ›

Jenny Scheinman is a catalyst of beautiful moments. Once, while recording an album with Lucinda Williams she coaxed the whole crew up to the roof for a candlelight dinner. Magical. Another time, she brought Paul Motian and Jason Moran together for a trio concert at the Village Vanguard. Superb. And one night, she invited banjo master Danny Barnes to join her at Barbes. The result: a space jammed with banjo players. Terrific. more ›