Wadada Leo Smith, Other Jazz Stalwarts Among 2021 United States Artists Fellows

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Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith is among several jazz world figures to become a 2021 United States Artists Fellow.

(Photo: Jimmy Katz)

Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, saxophonist Edward “Kidd” Jordan and cellist Tomeka Reid are among the 2021 United States Artists Fellows, the organization announced Feb. 3.

Sixty individuals from 22 different states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico received the award, which comes along with a $50,000 prize. According to the organization, the fellowship program has dispensed $33 million to more than 700 artists since its founding in 2006.

Architects and designers, textile and interdisciplinary artists, sculptors, dancers, filmmakers and others in media also were awarded the fellowship. Last year, composer Anthony Braxton, flutist Nicole Mitchell and pianist Sylvie Courvoisier were among those who received the honor.

For a full list of recipients, visit the United States Artists website. DB



  • Casey_B_2011-115-Edit.jpg

    Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.

  • Charles_Mcpherson_by_Antonio_Porcar_Cano_copy.jpg

    “He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.

  • Albert_Tootie_Heath_2014_copy.jpg

    ​Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.

  • Geri_Allen__Kurt_Rosenwinkel_8x12_9-21-23_%C2%A9Michael_Jackson_copy.jpg

    “Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”

  • 1_Henry_Threadgills_Zooid_by_Cora_Wagoner.jpg

    Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.


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