Established in 2025 through a partnership funded by Mellon and implemented by JFA, the Jazz Legacies Fellowship was created to celebrate seasoned jazz musicians while addressing the economic precarity that often accompanies a lifetime of creative contribution. Each fellow receives a $100,000 unrestricted award, along with access to tailored professional and personal resources, including performance and master class opportunities, production support, and legal and financial counsel, as needed.

Now in its second cycle, the fellowship continues to honor artists not only for their historical impact, but for their ongoing creative vitality and leadership. The 2026 fellows were selected by a distinguished panel of artists, scholars, and jazz professionals including: James Carter, Kris Davis, Kate Dumbleton, Stefon Harris, Willie Jones III, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Samora Pinderhughes, Rio Saikari, Magdelys Savigne, and Amina Scott.

The 2026 Jazz Legacies Fellows are:

• Dee Alexander, 70, Vocals (Chicago, IL) Community cornerstone and defining voice of Chicago jazz, from classic to the avant-garde
• Kenny Barron, 82, Piano (Brooklyn, NY) Paragon of keyboard elegance who framed solos of past legends and nurtured voices of future stars
• Gary Bartz, 85, Saxophone (Oakland, CA) Era-spanning saxophone guru and innovator of socially conscious musical concepts
• William Cepeda, 65, Trombone (Loiza, PR) World-renowned pioneer of “Afro-Rican jazz” fusing folkloric roots and global influences
• Marilyn Crispell, 78, Piano (Woodstock, NY) Avant-garde powerhouse who combines elemental force with tender lyricism
• Donald Harrison, 65, Saxophone (New Orleans, LA) Big Chief and culture bearer of New Orleans jazz, and architect of “Nouveau Swing”
• Oliver Lake, 83, Alto Saxophone and Flute (Montclair, NJ) Black Artists Group and World Saxophone Quartet co-founder, and interdisciplinary trailblazer
• Bennie Maupin, 84, Multi-Reeds (Los Angeles, CA) Multi-reed marvel who catalyzed cutting-edge jazz hybrids in iconic bands of his day
• Charles McPherson, 86, Saxophone (San Diego, CA) Bebop torchbearer with a direct connection to the bedrock of modern jazz
• Archie Shepp, 88, Saxophone (Amherst, MA) “Fire Music” forebear and academic pioneer who fearlessly chronicled the Black experience
• Mary Stallings, 86, Vocals (San Francisco, CA) Preeminent jazz storyteller who recaptured her early glory and then surpassed it
• Buster Williams, 83, Bass (Camden, NJ) Universally lauded giant of his instrument and lifelong spiritual seeker

“The Jazz Legacies Fellowship is a rare and meaningful investment in the artists who have carried this music forward for decades,” said acclaimed pianist, composer, and Jazz Legacies selection committee member, Kris Davis. “It recognizes lifetime achievement while affirming that these musicians’ voices remain essential to the future of jazz.”

“Receiving a Jazz Legacies Fellowship award brings light at this stage of the road, on my musical journey,” said celebrated cellist and 2025 Jazz Legacies fellow, Akua Dixon. “Creative Artists tread a path that only they can see. Being acknowledged for the difficult path that I’ve travelled and having assistance to continue creating on my own terms has been truly fulfilling.”

Designed in close collaboration with celebrated musician advisors Terri Lyne Carrington, Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill, esperanza spalding, and presenter Sunny Sumter, the Jazz Legacies Fellowship aims to foster intergenerational dialogue, honor lifelong artistic contributions, and ensure the integrity of jazz’s multivocal historical record.

“Illuminating the power and possibilities of jazz throughout their many years as extraordinary artists, these 12 new fellows continue to inspire us with their ever-expanding visions and creative innovation,” said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. “As we honor them and their leadership, we are proud to reaffirm our commitment to the American performing arts, to continue expanding robust, holistic support for American artists, and to join in lifting up jazz itself – a fundamentally American art form that celebrates and expresses freedom.”

“On a fundamental level, the fellowship provides financial support and addresses the countless workaday challenges that bedevil great artists who operate without a safety net,” said Joe Petrucelli, Executive Director of the Jazz Foundation of America. “But more than gain and reward, this program enshrines the profound esteem and affection in which the recipients are held in the jazz community. This makes the honor deeply meaningful not only for the individual fellows but everyone who cares about the traditions and legacies of this transcendent music.”

To learn more about the Jazz Legacies Fellows and their work please visit: jazzfoundation.org/jazz-legacies-fellowship/. To stay informed of additional funding for Mellon’s jazz initiative, subscribe to the Mellon Foundation newsletter at mellon.org/newsletter.

About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty and empowerment that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and guided by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

Source: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation