Miguel Zenón (New York, NY), a 2024 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, is a jazz artist who 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 built a distinguished career as a leader and has released 16 albums under his own name. In addition, he has honed his artistic identity by collaborating with both established jazz masters and the music’s younger innovators, irrespective of style and genre. Zenón has toured or recorded with artists including the SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden and Doris Duke Artists Fred Hersch and Danilo Perez. He has given hundreds of lectures and master classes worldwide and serves as a faculty member in the music and theater arts department at MIT. In 2011, Zenón founded Caravana Cultural, a program that presents free-of-charge jazz concerts in rural areas of Puerto Rico.