Elliot Wong has taken the 2026 Brubeck Living Legacy Prize, and it remains a young award: this is only the second time it has been given. The saxophonist grew up in Sydney and moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music, where he has recently completed postgraduate work in jazz.
The prize is a record deal in all but name, which makes it unusual among awards for emerging players. It brings funding and professional support worth up to 7,000 pounds to make and release a recording, and the resulting album is scheduled for May 2027. Claire Martin OBE, the jazz vocalist and producer who is artistic director of ECN Music, will produce it, with the company handling production, design, marketing, manufacturing and distribution.
The term that matters most to a musician is buried in the press release. Wong keeps ownership of the master recording, and the prize also supports a London launch event after release. An emerging artist being funded to make a record and then keeping the masters is close to the opposite of how a debut deal has historically worked.
The panel was specific about why it chose him. It cited the strength of his proposal, an assured compositional voice, a clear artistic vision and a readiness to make the most of the opportunity. "To make an album that really should be made," was how Darius Brubeck put the decision, adding that the video of Wong's final recital at the Royal Academy shows a musician with much to say and the talent to say it.
Three organisations share the award and all three were on the panel: Brubeck Living Legacy, represented by Darius Brubeck; the Royal Academy of Music, represented by its head of jazz programmes Nick Smart; and ECN Music, represented by Emma Perry. Their decision was unanimous.
One detail in the announcement does not settle. UK Jazz News introduces it as an annual prize, and the press release it then quotes describes it as biennial. If the second award has come a year after the first, the wording in the release is the one that needs correcting; either way, no ceremony date or presentation event is reported.
The award lands in a year when London's jazz infrastructure has been expanding around exactly this kind of player: Blue Note opened its first UK club in the city this month, and Nigel Price booked a twenty-date grassroots tour through the smaller rooms. Prize and ceremony dates across the season are tracked on award watch.
The facts
- Elliot Wong won the 2026 Brubeck Living Legacy Prize, the second time it has been awarded.
- He is a saxophonist originally from Sydney, now based in London.
- He recently completed postgraduate jazz studies at the Royal Academy of Music.
- The prize is worth up to 7,000 pounds in funding and professional support.
- His album is due in May 2027, produced by Claire Martin OBE through ECN Music.
- Wong retains ownership of the master recording.
- The panel was Darius Brubeck, Nick Smart and Emma Perry, and its decision was unanimous.
- UK Jazz News calls the prize annual while the press release it quotes calls it biennial.
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