Growing up in a musical and international family, music has always been at the centre of Mercedes Masters’ life in various cultural contexts. In witnessing and experiencing how music and culture connect people across different backgrounds, Mercedes has been organising musical and cultural events for over a decade, be it benefit concert fundraisers or heritage celebrations for embassies and international organisations.
Alongside music, Mercedes’ other passion is academic research, where she explores the intersection of culture and politics, examining how each shapes the other. It is one of the reasons she was drawn to volunteering with Queer Jazz, where music, community and social change come together in a uniquely creative and welcoming space.
Mercedes joins One Jazz as a resident voice for Queer Jazz, where she is sharing and celebrating queer jazz artists, diving into the sounds and discourses that inspire her to showcase jazz as the intersectional and political language it represents.
—–
Queer Jazz’s mission is to showcase and celebrate queer jazz artists and to nurture the emerging queer jazz scene. Founded by international DJ, broadcaster, curator and music journalist Tina Edwards and award-winning jazz musician Arowah (bandleader of Jelly Cleaver, B.H.A.M., All Day Breakfast Cafe, Musical Meditation), they launched for Pride 2023 with a series at Woolwich Works.
They have since partnered with the likes of Orii Jam, London Jazz Festival and Brick Lane Jazz Festival, and in 2025 received funding from Arts Council England to launch a monthly residency at Vortex Jazz Club alongside several special showcases across the UK to celebrate PRIDE. Their innovative approach has led to supportive coverage by Clash Magazine, Jazzwise, Jazz FM and a Jazz FM award nomination. Community is at the heart of what Queer Jazz does and they create a safe space for queer artists to be seen and celebrated as well as for queer audiences to see themselves represented in jazz. They aim to be a global advocate for LGBTQIA+ jazz musicians around the world, and have already welcomed international artists from Australia to Switzerland. You’ll find them regularly putting on shows at Hootananny’s and Vortex Jazz Club.
