William Cepeda Marks 35 Years of Afro Rican Jazz With the Puerto Rico Symphony, After Becoming the First Puerto Rican to Win the $100,000 Jazz Legacies Fellowship
CoquiList · With information from Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (prpop.org)
Trombonist and composer William Cepeda, born in Loíza, took the stage at the Pablo Casals Symphonic Hall in Santurce's Centro de Bellas Artes on Saturday, September 19, fusing his ensemble Afro Rican Jazz with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (OSPR) in a concert marking 35 years of a career that the international jazz world just recognized with one of its most significant awards 15.
From Loíza to World Recognition
Cepeda, 65, is widely considered the creator of what is called "Puerto Rican jazz" or Afro-Rican Jazz, a genre that for more than three decades has blended jazz improvisation with bomba, plena, danza, jíbaro music and Taíno-rooted rhythms 23. On February 17, 2026, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) named him part of the second class of Jazz Legacies Fellows, making him the first Puerto Rican to receive the honor since the program launched in 2025 3. "It is a privilege and an honor to receive this recognition. This means I must continue my responsibility to teach new generations about the wealth and grandeur of our Puerto Rican music, and document our history for future generations around the world," Cepeda said after the announcement 2.
The September 19 concert — billed as "Pops 1: William Cepeda Puerto Rican Jazz Sinfónico" — also opened the Pops series of OSPR's 2026-2027 season, titled "Travel Through Time with the OSPR," under the baton of maestro Roselín Pabón, the orchestra's director emeritus 15. The program featured the most emblematic pieces from the Afro Rican Jazz repertoire alongside unreleased compositions that premiered that same night, all arranged in symphonic format 1.
The Numbers Behind the Celebration
The Jazz Legacies Fellowship is part of a $35 million initiative the Mellon Foundation launched to preserve the legacy of veteran jazz artists, of which $15 million was set aside exclusively for unrestricted individual grants of $100,000 each 3. The inaugural 2025 class honored 20 artists; the 2026 second cohort added 12 musicians, including legends such as Kenny Barron, Archie Shepp, Gary Bartz and Buster Williams, alongside Cepeda 3. On the Centro de Bellas Artes stage, Afro Rican Jazz — the ensemble Cepeda founded 35 years ago — shared billing with guests including singer Nelie Lebrón, trovador Mariano Coto, hip-hop collective Siete Nueve, cuatro player Edwin Colón Zayas, pianist Uli Gaisendoerfer, dancer Sorely Muente, flamenco artist Marian Santiago and bomba performer Maribella Burgos 15. Cepeda has also earned multiple Grammy nominations and an honorary doctorate over the course of his career 2.
What This Means for You
This recognition puts Puerto Rico on the world jazz map just as the island opens its own performing-arts season: if you care about music rooted in Puerto Rican tradition, this is the moment to discover a genre — Afro-Rican Jazz — that fuses what already plays in the town squares (bomba, plena, jíbaro music) with the harmonic sophistication of symphonic jazz. For music students, Cepeda's fellowship also validates that the international industry now takes Puerto Rican traditional music seriously as a source of innovation, not just folklore.
How to Do It / Checklist
- Follow the OSPR's account and season itinerary (www.ospr.pr.gov) for future Pops and Classical series performances in the 2026-2027 season 5.
- Check for remaining or additional-date tickets on Ticketera (www.ticketera.com) or Ticket Center (tcpr.com), where tickets for this concert were sold 14.
- If you missed the September 19 show, look for recordings or livestream clips on the social media channels of the OSPR and the Luis A. Ferré Centro de Bellas Artes.
- Explore William Cepeda and Afro Rican Jazz's discography on streaming platforms to hear the 35-year repertoire celebrated that night.
- Music teachers and students should watch the Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (prpop.org) for future talks or workshops tied to Cepeda's mentorship role under the Mellon fellowship 23.
What Comes Next
As part of the fellowship's benefits, Cepeda will get access to production resources, master-class opportunities and additional performance dates, on top of the unrestricted $100,000 award, suggesting more public and educational activity from him in the coming months 3. Meanwhile, the OSPR continues its 2026-2027 season with a slate of classical, family and educational concerts that already got underway in recent weeks, so this crossover between Afro-Puerto Rican jazz and symphony likely will not be the only fusion experiment the orchestra brings this year 5.
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