Carmen Lundy is Named Recipient of the 2025 Jazz Legacies Fellowship

JazzTimes once proclaimed that “musicians as diversely gifted as Carmen Lundy, who has excelled as a vocalist, composer, lyricist, arranger and pianist for more than three decades, remain far and few between.” Having composed and published more than 150 original songs, with 16 albums as a bandleader, she has not only been a consummate interpreter of the jazz repertoire; she has contributed significantly to expanding it.

Twice nominated for a Grammy for Modern Ancestors and Fade To Black, Lundy is also the recipient of the RoundGlass Music Award, as well as the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz by Black Women in Jazz and the Arts. She was awarded the inaugural Centennial Medal of Honor in 2023 from the University of Miami as a distinguished alumna; among her other awards and recognitions, especially rewarding was Miami-Dade’s County Office of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners proclaiming January 25th “Carmen Lundy Day,” along with handing Ms. Lundy the keys to the City of Miami.

Throughout her journey, Lundy has kept her focus on how she can expand her beloved art form. “Some of the greatest contributors to the music that we call jazz are no longer with us, so what do we do?” she has said. “We can ‘boo-hoo’ or we can pick up the torch and the mantle and keep pressing.”

Learn more about her legacy.

Congratulations, Carmen, for receiving the Jazz Legacies Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation . We are proud to honor and celebrate the groundbreaking musicians who have shaped the very nature of jazz.