Marion Hayden
Kresge Artist of 2025
Local bassist, bandleader and educator Marion Hayden has been awarded the Kresge Eminent Artist prize of 2025. She is the youngest recipient of the prize and a very busy person. She joins Wendell Harrison and Marcus Belgrave in the growing line of jazz artists who have received the award.
Hayden is a co-founder of Straight Ahead, a pioneering all-female ensemble that recorded for Atlantic in the eighties and performs regularly at jazz festivals, including the one in Detroit. She also teaches at the University of Michigan and Oakland University. Hayden continues the tradition of mentoring aspiring musicians as she was inspired by her elders bassist Will Austin, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and drummer Roy Brooks.