Next Jazz Legacy
Announces first group of musicians awarded apprenticeships and support
Next Jazz Legacy is proud to announce the first list of seven emerging women and non-binary awardees selected for this new program, engaging the music community with another crucial step closer to a more inclusive future. Focused on increasing opportunities for musicians most underrepresented in the art form, the three-year, national program launched by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice – with major funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation – will invest in each of these seven awardees through personalized apprenticeships, financial support, and a mission to inspire waves of lasting change.
Combining individual and group learning opportunities with a comprehensive support package designed to deliver deep impacts on every candidate’s career, Next Jazz Legacy champions those whose access to resources has been limited. With gender and racial justice as guiding principles, this inaugural group of Next Jazz Legacy awardees was chosen through an open call process and a meticulous, months-long review process by a distinguished and diverse panel of jazz trailblazers, chaired by NEA Jazz Master and Next Jazz Legacy’s Artistic Director, Terri Lyne Carrington. Once the seven awardees were selected, Carrington and the Next Jazz Legacy team worked closely with each of the seven musicians to match them with a pair of master bandleaders for a year-long performance apprenticeship, as well as an additional creative mentorship, both aligned with the awardees’ unique interests.
See the full list of Next Jazz Legacy artists, their respective instruments and bandleader pairings below, and watch a brief introduction to each in the video here: https://youtu.be/4HHkHVqBQL8
Ivanna Cuesta
Drums
Apprenticeship with Esperanza Spalding
Creative Mentorship with Wayne Shorter
Lexi Hamner
Voice & Trombone
Apprenticeship with Tia Fuller
Creative Mentorship with Bobby McFerrin
Keyanna Hutchinson
Guitar
Apprenticeship with Lizz Wright
Creative Mentorship with Brandon Ross
Alexis Lombre
Piano
Apprenticeship with Marcus Miller
Creative Mentorship with Georgia Anne Muldrow
Anastassiya Petrova
Piano & Organ
Apprenticeship with Chris Potter
Creative Mentorship with Kris Davis
Loke Risberg
Guitar
Apprenticeship with Linda May Han Oh
Creative Mentorship with Bill Stewart
Kalia Vandever
Trombone
Apprenticeship with Mary Halvorson
Creative Mentorship with Jen Shyu
In addition to the performance apprenticeships and creative mentorships with the bandleaders listed above, the seven Next Jazz Legacy artists will participate in business mentorships with experts in the field. Each awardee will also join quarterly learning cohorts led by Terri Lyne Carrington, receive a small scholarship to enroll in a Berklee Online course of their choice for the purposes of continued education, and present their music through empowerment and promotional opportunities such as media interviews, short films, and showcases with partner presenters. A $10,000 grant will be awarded per apprentice, to use as an investment into the next steps in their career. Learn more about the program’s complete list of offerings: https://newmusicusa.org/program/next-jazz-legacy
“The rich legacy of jazz can only get better when we are inclusive,” says Terri Lyne Carrington, Artistic Director of Next Jazz Legacy and founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. “We are at a time in history where varying communities are having to rethink their social and political positions. This generation is demanding that we open our minds and hearts to consider a future with greater distance from the customs and standards of the past. As educators and mentors, it is our job to listen to them and work together to make needed change.”
