Taylor Lee hasn’t let anything stop him from pursuing his musical dreams, and now his hard work is starting to pay off. Lee, a freshman majoring in jazz studies, was recognized by the Los Angeles Jazz Society — a nonprofit organization focused on promoting jazz education for public school students — with the Flip & Shelly Manne New Talent Award.

Jazz hasn’t been a lifelong staple for Lee, but he joined his middle school jazz band in the eighth grade. From the moment he was first introduced to the genre, he was hooked.

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“The whole part that really fascinated me was that people were improvising on the spot and making music on the spot… I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, how can these people just listen to chords and they’re able to improvise and make something out of nothing?’” Lee said.

Initially shrugged off by his parents as “just a phase,” Lee made sure to take his musical goals seriously. After being admitted to Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in 10th grade, his eyes were opened to what a career in music could have in store.

“That’s when the whole prospect of music being an actual career choice kind of became more realistic for me, because when I went to LACHSA, I was just surrounded by people who were really like-minded,” Lee said. “Everybody at LACHSA was very passionate and they knew exactly what they wanted to do.”

On top of being inspired by his peers at LACHSA, his teachers were instrumental in his development. Professor Alex Hahn — who now teaches Lee in his jazz elements class — is also the director of jazz at LACHSA, and has seen him develop as a musician over the last few years.

“He is somebody who is extremely positive, who is extremely hardworking, who always has a great attitude, who is always helping others,” Hahn said. “He was kind of a tone setter at LACHSA, because so many students looked up to him and he always did things the right way.”

After graduating from one of the most prestigious high school jazz programs in the country, Lee decided to bring his talents to nearby USC, where he has found many of the same elements in the Thornton School of Music that made LACHSA special.

“The way I’m going with my music is that I’m also really passionate about songwriting, so I think USC is the perfect place to do that because I have access to an amazing, world-renowned jazz faculty. But then there’s also the No. 1 pop program in the country,” Lee said.

Music isn’t the only thing that makes USC special, though — the environment of students at the University, all working toward different goals, has helped nurture Lee as an artist.

“Outside of Thornton, I’m meeting these other new people who are not necessarily interested in the arts, or who are having different ambitions and everything,” Lee said. “I think it almost balances me out, it prevents me from getting too monomaniacal about my art because then I think I’m gonna burn out.”

In his young career, Lee has already had opportunities that lifelong musicians would dream of.
Through his involvement in the Bill Green Mentorship program, Lee was able to become acquainted with the L.A. Jazz Society, where he was eventually honored with their New Talent Award. Lee performed at their 2024 Jazz Tribute Concert on the same bill as other honorees, including legends such as Marcus Miller, Veronica Swift and Kris Bowers.

Lee credits his early accomplishments to his unwavering dedication. No matter the distractions that surrounded him, Lee always made music a priority.

“If there’s something that you really are passionate about, I think you should go full hearted, go 110% into it because you never know where you’re gonna end up,” Lee said. “Over the summer, I was able to go to Wyoming with the Herbie Hancock Institute and tour for a week with this artist named Terrell Stafford… I did not expect that in a million years.”

With jazz being such a social art form, Lee has been able to make invaluable connections through his playing. One of these connections was 16-year-old Saoirse Sipes, a drummer who accompanied him on the stage for his award concert.

“He’s always kind of playing for me to catch, for me to react with, and react off of,” Sipes said. “[Lee is a] very reactive guy, very energetic, which just makes it really fun to play with him.”

Going forward, Lee hopes to start recording his own music in hopes of becoming a performing artist.

“The plan is to just keep doing what I do, and start releasing music and start creating content on Instagram to promote that music, and then just get really in the community,” Lee said. “I hope to have some music released by the end of this year.”

Playing jazz piano allowed Lee to hone his technical skills, but in his songwriting, he hopes to push the boundaries of jazz and venture into fusions of other genres as well. Lee cites Elliott Smith, Madison Cunningham and Bruno Major as some of his biggest contemporary influences who help him to navigate the ambiguous genre of jazz.

“What is jazz? Is it swinging bands like Count Basie or is it like Domi and JD Beck, who are playing this fusion rap-type stuff with Kendrick Lamar and Anderson Paak?” Lee said.

In whatever form jazz takes in the future, Lee is set to be at the forefront of it. Already deserving of professional accolades, the prodigy is on track to put himself in the same conversation as the pioneers who inspire him today.

“It’s okay to take up space,” Lee said. “It’s okay to be yourself and do what you love.”