As an international membership organization of traditional and new media professionals covering jazz, the Jazz Journalists Association has, since 2001, sought nominations of “grassroots culture workers” who “go beyond their professional responsibilities to sustain and expand on musical activities with local and regional impact.” For 2026, the JJA celebrates 35 “Jazz Heroes” from 33 locales across the U.S. and, for the first time, London. The announcement launches JJA’s 31st annual Jazz Awards season during Jazz Appreciation Month. Reverend Carl Walker and Grant West, founders and long-time leaders of the Walker West Music Academy in St Paul, represent the Twin Cities and Minnesota in this 2026 class of heroes. The awards will be presented by nominators Andrea Canter, Steve Kenny and Patty Peterson during a free concert by jazz ensemble Mississippi on April 30 (6-8 pm) in the Walker West Performance Center.
Minnesota’s “Jazz Heroes” share a lifelong commitment to music education, community empowerment, and cultural preservation that has profoundly shaped the Twin Cities jazz scene. Their Walker West Music Academy in Saint Paul, one of the nation’s first African American–founded community music schools, has provided accessible, culturally-rooted instruction in jazz, gospel, and classical music to thousands of students since 1988, while also deflecting the pull of drugs and inner city street gangs. Further, their longstanding commitment has launched the careers of generations of local and national jazz musicians and music educators.
Reverend Carl Walker studied music from childhood and later at McKendee College in Lebanon, IL. After moving to the Twin Cities, he graduated from North Central Bible College and further studied at the MacPhail Center for Music. Long-time Music Director at Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church (St Paul), he was responsible for building several choirs and training many singers and musicians.
A Wyoming native who studied piano as a child, Grant West moved to St Paul where he became a respected community leader through his work with the St Paul Urban League. Also a children’s music teacher in Black community churches, he had the amazing opportunity to play piano with Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1987, Walker and West met while leading separate choirs at an area church function. Both taught piano lessons from their homes, and soon decided to combine businesses, launching their program with one rented piano in a second floor duplex.
Over the years the program grew in size and scope. Opening in 2025, the latest facility features teaching modern studios, classrooms, and rehearsal and concert spaces. Throughout its history, Walker West has promoted jazz education through individual lessons, group ensembles, and performance opportunities for young artists at the Twin Cities and Eau Claire (WI) Jazz Festivals, as well as in area jazz clubs. Today Walker West boasts a thriving string program as well as lessons in 14 instruments and voice, an early childhood program, and the Amazing Grace Chorus, a dementia-friendly program for seniors. Instructors are among the most accomplished Twin Cities artists, some who received their first taste of jazz as Walker West students.
WWMA now serves up to 600 students per week, approximately 5600 annually. Grant West and Carl Walker have ensured that the school remains accessible to the Twin Cities community, noting that “talent should not be limited by finances.” If families struggle to pay for lessons, parents can volunteer at the school; teachers can accelerate instruction to ensure that students progress, even if not able to stay long-term. WWMA also provides over $100,000 in tuition scholarships each year.
With the latest incarnation of Walker West Music Academy, Reverend Walker notes that “I just get a sense of excitement every time I come here. I know I’m going to see something different, just like it is with music. Each day, there is a new dream that has occurred, and every time, it’s a good one.”
The JJA awards will be presented during a free “Jazz Appreciation Month” concert sponsored by the Twin Cities Musicians Union in the Walker West Performance Center, featuring the all-star Twin Cities ensemble Mississippi—Pete Whitman, Kavyesh Kaviraj, Jeff Bailey and Kevin Washington. The concert is free but registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-jazz-with-mississippi-tickets-1985763446925 Walker West Music Academy is located at 650 Marshall Av, St Paul.
See the full listing and nominations of the 2026 JJA Jazz Heroes at https://jjajazzawards.org/2026-jazz-heroes/
This article is based on the nomination letter submitted to JJA by Andrea Canter, Patty Peterson and Steve Kenny.
