Grammy Winner, Doris Duke Artist & Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced & blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation & tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking & influential saxophonists/composers of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many musical influences. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has released 18 recordings as a leader, including his latest, Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at The Village Vanguard (2025), the Grammy-nominated Golden City (2024), & the Grammy-winning album El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2 (2023). He has worked with luminaries such as The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Perez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, The Mingus Big Band & Bobby Hutcherson. In April 2008 he received a fellowship from the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Later that year he was one of 25 distinguished individuals chosen to receive the coveted MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the “Genius Grant.” In 2011 he founded Caravana Cultural, a program which presents free-of-charge Jazz concerts in rural areas of Puerto Rico. In 2022 he received an Honorary Doctorate from La Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the highest honor bestowed by the institution. In 2024 he received a Doris Duke Artist Award from the Doris Duke Foundation. Zenón has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe & The Chicago Tribune. In addition, he topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year & Alto Saxophonist of the Year categories in the 2014 JazzTimes Critics Poll and was selected as Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 & 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of the Year). In 2023 he was recognized by the same organization as the Composer of the Year. As a composer he has been commissioned by SFJAZZ, NYO Jazz, The New York State Council on the Arts, Chamber Music America, Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Spektral Quartet, Miller Theater, The Hewlett Foundation, Peak Performances, PRISM Quartet, Kinetic Ensemble and many of his peers. Zenón has given hundreds of lectures and master classes at institutions all over the world and is an Associate Professor in the Music & Theater Arts Department at MIT.
I had the honor to get some time catching up with Miguel ahead of the December 5th event in Madison at Arts Literature Laboratory with the great pianist, Mr. Luis Perdomo. We get into what people can expect this time around with their ‘El Arte Del Bolero’ concert that evening. We talk about what a new person to this scene might expect. Miguel also shares about them workshopping in some new music into these sets. That leads to a conversation around improv, live recordings versus studio work and we end up finding out what he has been listening to these days. The dive into making of his latest record and sharing the moments that have been captured in time and getting it to the point of wanting it to be documented and shared was such a highlight for me to wrap my mind around. Considering the people he has worked with and been inspired by, it was very insightful when we get talking about him being an instrument for someone else’s project.
