Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
The fellowship will support 50 jazz artists age 62 and older.
(Photo: Courtesy JFA)The Mellon Foundation has started a multifaceted $35 million initiative aimed at supporting the cultural preservation of jazz, championing the legacy of the artists who have played a pivotal role in its formation and strengthening the broader jazz ecosystem. The initiative, which will provide support for scholarly and storytelling initiatives, and partnerships with the archives, clubs and other institutions critical to preserving and amplifying jazz’s impact on future generations, is anchored by the Jazz Legacies Fellowship: a newly created $15 million fellowship founded in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA).
Administered by JFA’s Jazz Legacies Fellowship team led by program director Veronika Châtelain, the fellowship will support 50 seasoned jazz artists aged 62 and older. Each recipient will be honored with a lifetime achievement award and receive an unrestricted grant of $100,000. Recipients will also be provided with resources for tailored professional and personal support, including master class and performance opportunities, production assistance and legal and financial counsel.
The inaugural class of 20 Jazz Legacies Fellows represents the pinnacle of creative achievement, technical mastery and boundary-pushing expression. They are the first of 50 artists to be named fellows over the next four years.
The 2025 Jazz Legacies Fellows are pianist George Cables, pianist Valerie Capers, saxophonist George Coleman, cellist Akua Dixon, guitarist Manty Ellis, drummer Billy Hart, trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Bertha Hope, drummer Roger Humphries, vocalist Carmen Lundy, pianist Amina Claudine-Myers, multi-reedist Roscoe Mitchell, pianist Johnny O’Neal, drummer Shannon Powell, trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeter Dizzy Reece, drummer Herlin Riley, pianist Michele Rosewoman, pianist Dom Salvador and bassist Reggie Workman.
The Jazz Legacies Fellowship was designed for artists, in close collaboration with a host of celebrated musician advisors, including Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian McBride, Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill, esperanza spalding and presenter Sunny Sumter.
“The jazz community is unmatched in its reverence and affection for its heroes,” said Joe Petrucelli, executive director of the Jazz Foundation of America. “JFA is proud to have launched this fellowship, in partnership with Mellon, and guided by input from over 100 musicians, presenters, educators and organizers to select 20 inaugural recipients. Our process balanced creativity, generational impact, and the realities of being a working jazz musician in America. With urgency and consensus, we celebrate these artists as mentors, trailblazers and inspirational figures. This fellowship not only celebrates their contributions but also provides much-needed financial security — an all-too-rare resource in the field.”
Building on Mellon’s commitment to creating a more robust ecosystem that champions care for art and its creators, the foundation’s jazz initiative advances preservation, scholarship and celebration of the art form by providing strategic support for organizations that present, advocate for and produce jazz music. As part of the broader jazz initiative, Mellon has granted $4 million to eight organizations critical to the art form, including the 369th Experience, connecting military and jazz history through the legacy of the Harlem Hellfighters Band; Arts for Art, championing avant-garde jazz in New York City; Afro Latin Jazz Alliance/Belongo, advancing Latin jazz traditions through education and performance; DC Jazz Festival, providing a major platform for emerging and established artists; the Ellis Marsalis Center, offering vital jazz education in New Orleans; JazzMobile, bringing free concerts to communities since 1964; the Philadelphia Clef Club, preserving the city’s rich jazz heritage; and the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival “calling home” jazz artists for its 25th anniversary.
“Jazz is a quintessentially American art form, central to our vast and varied American culture, and this initiative rightly and broadly honors the work of those who continue to drive the evolution of jazz while also safeguarding its histories,” said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. “We at Mellon are proud to join JFA in recognizing the artists, scholars and community coalitions that continue to amplify our understanding and appreciation of this dynamic musical form and the deep generational knowledge that will accumulate from it long into the future.”
For more information on the Jazz Legacies Fellowship, CLICK HERE. DB
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
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