
Next Jazz Legacy
Next Jazz Legacy is a new national apprenticeship program for women and non-binary improvisers in jazz, with the intersection of gender and race as a guiding principle.
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 Mellon Foundation – invests in 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, awardees receive $10,000, performance opportunities with master bandleaders, two-way mentorship, a learning cohort, and professional promotional support.
With gender and racial justice as guiding principles, Next Jazz Legacy awardees are chosen through an open call process and a meticulous, months-long review process by a distinguished and diverse panel of jazz luminaries, chaired by NEA Jazz Master and Next Jazz Legacy’s Artistic Director, Terri Lyne Carrington. Once the seven awardees are selected, Carrington and the Next Jazz Legacy team work 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.
Alongside Terri Lyne Carrington, the selection committee for the 2023 Next Jazz Legacy cohort included JD Allen, Tanya Darby, Caroline Davis, Carlos Henriquez, Brian Lynch, Allison Miller, Rufus Reid, Matthew Stevens, Camille Thurman, and more. 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 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, NPR, WBGO, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, New York Winter Jazz Festival, and beyond.
The NJL program is managed by New York City-based emerging guitarist, composer and educator Lolivone de la Rosa. Any questions about the program should be addressed to de la Rosa at [email protected].
The second class of seven Next Jazz Legacy artists spans a wide spectrum of genres, instruments, and trajectories, with personal experiences of confronting the challenges of sexism, socio-economic status, and opportunity.
Click here to read the full news announcement on the Next Jazz Legacy 2023 Cohort.
See the full list of Next Jazz Legacy artists, their respective instruments and bandleader pairings below.
2022-2023 Awardees
Piano | Apprenticeship: Miguel Zenón | Creative Mentorship: Helen Sung
Trumpet, Flugelhorn | Apprenticeship: Nicholas Payton | Creative Mentorship: Meshell Ndegeocello
Bass | Apprenticeship: Regina Carter | Creative Mentorship: Christian McBride
Voice | Apprenticeship: Craig Taborn | Creative Mentorship: Nicole Mitchell
Voice | Apprenticeship: Brandee Younger | Creative Mentorship: Patrice Rushen
Saxophone | Apprenticeship: Nasheet Waits | Creative Mentorship: Moor Mother
Saxophone | Apprenticeship: Makaya McCraven | Creative Mentorship: Tia Fuller
2021-2022 Awardees
Drummer & Composer Apprenticeship: esperanza spalding | Creative Mentor: Wayne Shorter
Singer/songwriter, Trombonist & Multi-instrumentalist | Apprenticeship: Tia Fuller | Creative Mentor: Bobby McFerrin
Musician, Composer & Producer | Apprenticeship: Lizz Wright | Creative Mentor: Brandon Ross
Pianist, Vocalist & Composer | Apprenticeship: Marcus Miller | Creative Mentor: Georgia Ann Muldrow
Pianist & Organist | Apprenticeship: Chris Potter | Creative Mentor: Kris Davis
Guitarist & Composer | Bandleader: Linda May Han Oh | Creative Mentor & Recording: Bill Stewart
Trombonist, Composer & Educator | Apprenticeship: Mary Halvorson | Creative Mentor: Jen Shyu
Why This Program Is Needed
According to an analysis of NPR’s 2019 Jazz Critics poll…





Program Highlights
Next Jazz Legacy Advisory Board
Artistic Director, BIJGJ

Gabrielle Armand
VP Brand, Sales, Marketing, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Darlene Chan
FestivalWest, Inc., Los Angeles, New Orleans
Vocalist & educator
Pianist & Composer/Associate Director of Creative Development, BIJGJ
Director of Hip Hop Culture & Contemporary Music, The Kennedy Center
Executive Director, Little Black Pearl Art and Design Academy
Trumpeter, bandleader, composer and educator
Producer at NPR
President & CEO, New Music USA
New York Winter Jazz Festival
Jazz pianist & composer
Pianist & composer
Songwriter, bassist, guitarist & West Coast Dir. of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
Managing Director, Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice
Press & Media Links
Funders
Next Jazz Legacy is a partnership between New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice with support from the Mellon Foundation. Next Jazz Legacy extends their gratitude to Joe and Nancy Walker for their generosity.

