Indianapolis Jazz Hero
Celebrating the overlooked jazz legacy of Indiana, Indianapolis bassist Brandon Meeks has turned his band into a vehicle for musical memory.
Recently named the first Indiana recipient of the 2026 Creative Capital State of the Art Prize, he’s taken his project Unsung Giants: Indiana’s Hidden Jazz Stories Come Alive on the road. Dedicated to overlooked jazz elders, Unsung Giants is designed to elevate Indiana’s jazz elders while centering the music within Black cultural heritage.
“I want to start with a few stories that are close to me, one being trumpeter Cliff Ratliff, who I play with all the time through Inspire Music Collective,” says Meeks, referring to the Indianapolis nonprofit that supports artists.
“And in my hometown of Gary there’s a jazz pianist, Billy Foster, who’s been a great player for decades and has worked with legends. I feel his story is underrepresented in the national conversation.”
He also singled out one of his key mentors, veteran Indianapolis drummer Kenny Phelps, as another Unsung Giant he intends to showcase. In many ways the project dovetails with Meeks’s 3rd Sunday Jazz Concert Series, which he launched to make high-quality jazz experiences more accessible in the community. Offering others the opportunities he had over the years is dear to his heart.
After attending the Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Gary, Meeks went to Columbia College in Chicago for graphic design. He graduated with a degree, “but being in downtown Chicago every day and seeing some incredible musicians performing, like Branford Marsalis and Stefon Harris,” drew him back to jazz, says Meeks, who portrayed bassist Ron Carter in the 2015 Don Cheadle film Miles Ahead.
“It’s become clear this is meant to be my life’s work and this is why things have always unfolded in a way that have pushed me in this direction,” says Meeks. “Because this is where the universe has placed me to serve my fellow man with this thing we call music.” It’s a mission that makes Meeks a worthy recipient of the JJA Jazz Hero Award.
—Leslie Lynnton Fuller
