Nicknamed “The Angel of Jazz,”Gretchen Valade was the rare kind of philanthropist who did not merely write checks – she wrote entire chapters of Detroit’s cultural history.

Hers was the kind of legacy that stuck.

Born into the Carhartt family fortune, Valade could have taken the easy route – private schools, fancy clubs, corporate boards.

Instead, she took a different road – one punctuated by piano keys and saxophone solos.

She learned music – especially jazz – not as a social pastime, but as a sacred language – and though she sat in the Carhartt chair and led the workwear brand into the 21st century, her heart always thumped in 4/4 time.

Valade publicly showed her devotion to Detroit in 2005 by saving the Detroit Jazz Festival from bankruptcy, reportedly donating more than $10 million to the cause.

She had one goal: Keeping the music alive.

As its founding chair, she helped create the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation, one of the largest free jazz festivals in the world.

Just like that, Detroit’s place in jazz – long lost to other cities – was not lost, but amplified.

For Valade, it was more than just music.

It was her birthright – and she set out to protect that inheritance for future generations.

Valade started Mack Avenue Records in her 70s, a boutique jazz label that developed talent rather than exploited it. 

That label soon became one of the best-known jazz imprints Detroit ever saw – a haven for serious musicians to record Grammy-winning albums.

Like many executives, Valade did not interfere.

She listened.

She supported.

She let artists be artists – and the results spoke for themselves.

Her label became the home to players often misunderstood or ignored by mainstream record giants – mainly because she never chased trends.

Quite the contrary – she cultivated excellence.

The death of Gretchen Valade in 2022 marked the end of an era, but her influence is still felt.

Her legacy was not just a company, a festival, or a record label, but giving back to a city that will never forget her.

She always said Detroit needed to remember what it was instead of trying to reinvent itself, and her philanthropy went a long way in restoring the balance.

For Valade, art was not charity.

It was essential.

Jazz was not a relic.

It was Detroit’s living language.

In a world obsessed with volume, Gretchen Valade was like a whisper.

But what a powerful one she was.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: June 26, 2025