Jazz News: Tia Fuller plays Carnegie Hall; Dee Alexander named Mellon Jazz Fellow; Bill Evans documentary
This is Jazz News, a look at what’s news in jazz, music, and the arts.
Saxophonist Tia Fuller and her sister Shamie Fuller-Royston are playing Carnegie Hall this Thursday, February 26 in the contemporary space they call Zankel Hall. It’s Tia Fuller’s debut as a headliner, and she’ll be playing music from her forthcoming album “Dynasty.” The show is an homage to the family band they come from, Fuller Sound, led by their bassist father, Fred, and vocalist Elthopia Fuller. They’re joined by Shamie’s son, drummer-composer Koleby Royston, and bassist Eric Wheeler. (Source: Carnegie Hall / Tia Fuller - Saxophone)
KUVO overnight host and jazz vocalist Dee Alexander has been named a Jazz Legacy Fellow by the Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America. It’s a $100,000 unrestricted prize awarded for artists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the art form and strengthening the broader jazz ecosystem.
Other awardees in this second cohort of 12 Jazz Legacy Fellows are: vocalist Mary Stallings, pianists Kenny Barron and Marilyn Crispell, trombonist William Cepeda, bassist Buster Williams, and saxophonists Gary Bartz, Donald Harrison, Oliver Lake, Bennie Maupin, Charles McPherson and Archie Shepp. Luminaries all!
And here’s a feature to this grant program that many foundations are including. The awardees also receive access to tailored professional and personal resources, including performance and master class opportunities, production support, and legal and financial counsel, as needed.
Joe Petrucelli, Executive Director of the Jazz Foundation of America said, “On a fundamental level, the fellowship addresses the countless workaday challenges that bedevil great artists who operate without a safety net.”
A documentary film about the enigmatic Bill Evans premiered at the just-concluded Berlin International Film Festival. The film centers on Evans self-imposed exile after the tragic death of bassist Scott LaFaro. From British director Grant Gee, the film is named after the great 1959 release, “Everybody Digs Bill Evans.”
(Source: Berlinale en 2026 Programme)
Stay connected to KUVO’s programs and our community! Sign up for the Oasis E-News today!
