American Jazz, American Culture

Jazz is a gloriously American art form and has driven our country’s culture for generations, mingling storytelling, improvisation, and richly original styles. Passed from elders to new artists, decade by decade since it was first sparked among enslaved Black communities, jazz evokes our collective history and excites our collective imagination.

In recognition of the profound cultural role of jazz, the Mellon Foundation’s recent $35 million commitment to its preservation celebrates the many ways jazz is shaping American society—and the artists, musicians, and organizations across the United States who keep expanding the possibilities of the artform.

Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, led a discussion with guests Farah Jasmine Griffin, author and professor, Columbia University; Terri Lyne Carrington, founder and artistic director, Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice; and artist, musician, and composer esperanza spalding that rejoiced in the American innovation of jazz—and the cultural creativity it has never ceased to generate throughout the nation and around the world.

This event was originally livestreamed on March 20, 2025.

Watch this video with ASL interpretation