Miguel ZenÓn Quartet at Yoshi's Oakland

Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents  a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most  groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and 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 fifteen recordings as a leader, including his latest, Música De Las Américas and the Grammy Nominated El Arte Del Bolero (2021), Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (2019) and Yo Soy La Tradición (2018). As a  sideman 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, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sanchez, Brian Lynch, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort  Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band and Bobby Hutcherson....

read more

Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents  a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most  groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and 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 fifteen recordings as a leader, including his latest, Música De Las Américas and the Grammy Nominated El Arte Del Bolero (2021), Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (2019) and Yo Soy La Tradición (2018). As a  sideman 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, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sanchez, Brian Lynch, Joey Calderazzo, Steve Coleman, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort  Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band and Bobby Hutcherson.
Zenón has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street  Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and The Chicago Tribune. In addition, he  topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist categories on the 2014 Jazz  Times Critics Poll and was selected as the Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist  Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of The  Year).
As a composer he has been commissioned by SFJAZZ, NYO Jazz, The New York State Council  for the Arts, Chamber Music America, Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz  Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Spektral Quartet, The Hewlett  Foundation, Peak Performances, PRISM Quartet and many of his peers. Zenón has given  hundreds of lectures and master classes at institutions all over the world and is a permanent  faculty member at New England Conservatory and The Manhattan School of Music. In April  2008 Zenón 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.

show less