Next Jazz Legacy has announced the seven emerging women or non-binary awardees selected for the second year of the program, which aims to increase opportunities for underrepresented jazz musicians.
The three-year program launched by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice provides mentorship and professional development opportunities to each of the recipients.
The seven recipients in 2023 are pianist Camila Cortina Bello, trumpet and flugelhorn player Milena Casado, bassist Liany Mateo, vocalists Anaïs Maviel and Tatiana LadyMay Mayfield, and saxophonists Neta Raanan and Anisha Rush.
“I’m very pleased with our selections for this year’s Next Jazz Legacy awardees,” said Terri Lyne Carrington, co-founder and artistic director of Next Jazz Legacy. “We strive to amplify women and non-binary musicians’ voices and address the need for all musicians, practitioners, and professionals in jazz to contribute to a more equitable jazz future. I am both hopeful and confident that jazz is developing progressively toward this end. This is why this program is exciting and the future possibilities of the sound of jazz are exciting as well.”
Each artist in the Next Jazz Legacy will benefit from a comprehensive package that includes a $10,000 grant, a one-year performance apprenticeship, a two-way mentorship program pairing them with artistic and business professionals, peer-learning cohorts led by Carrington, an online learning course from Berklee, and a variety of promotional opportunities including live showcases with national presenters.
For the program’s apprenticeships, the participants will each be paired with one of Regina Carter, Makaya McCraven, Nicholas Payton, Craig Taborn, Nasheet Waits, Brandee Younger and Miguel Zenón. Additionally, Tia Fuller, Christian McBride, Nicole Mitchell, Moor Mother, Meshell Ndegeocello, Patrice Rushen and Helen Sung will participate as mentors.
With gender and racial justice as guiding principles, Next Jazz Legacy chose the awardees through an open-call process and a “meticulous, months-long” review process by a panel, chaired by Carrington, that included JD Allen, Tanya Darby, Caroline Davis, Carlos Henriquez, Brian Lynch, Allison Miller, Rufus Reid, Matthew Stevens and Camille Thurman.
Over the next three years, Next Jazz Legacy will be guided by an advisory board that includes artists Gerald Clayton and Kris Davis and representatives from institutions such as the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, NPR, WBGO, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and more.
“Next Jazz Legacy unites leading artists of all genders in a program which highlights and responds to the immense inequities that have existed in jazz since its beginning,” said Vanessa Reed, co-founder of Next Jazz Legacy and president and CEO of New Music USA. “Feedback from the women and non-binary musicians who were supported in our first year confirms that our package of financial support, mentoring, and cohort learning has generated unique opportunities, including a wealth of new connections that will support them long after the program has ended. I could not be more proud to continue this important work and I am hugely grateful to the many inspirational musicians who have contributed as mentors, bandleaders and advisors alongside our artistic director, Terri Lyne Carrington.”
For more information on this year’s awardees, visit newmusicusa.org.