Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

New Music USA and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice Announce 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Cohort

26/03/2025

New Music USA and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice Announce 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Cohort The fourth year of the program, led by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, continues to advance jazz inclusivity.

By

Tori Donahue

March 25, 2025

The 2025 Next Jazz Legacy cohort

Next Jazz Legacy (NJL) is excited to announce the eight emerging improvisers in jazz that make up its 2025 cohort. The trailblazing program, created by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, aims to tackle gender and racial inequities by offering intergenerational apprenticeship, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to people who have been historically underrepresented in jazz. The program is funded by the Mellon Foundation.

The 2025 Next Jazz Legacy CohortAlexandra Ridout (she/her): Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator

Bandleader: Melissa Aldana; Creative Mentor: Marquis Hill

April May Webb (she/her): Vocalist, composer, educator

Bandleader: Danilo P rez; Creative Mentor: Ledisi

Brenda Navarrete Guzman (she/her): Afro-Cuban percussionist, singer, composer

Bandleader: Kassa Overall; Creative Mentor: Terri Lyne Carrington

Carmen Quill (she/her): Upright bass, composer, songwriter

Bandleader: Billy Hart; Creative Mentor: Becca Stevens

Chanelle Ignant (she/her): Guitarist, educator, composer

Bandleader: Meshell Ndegeocello; Creative Mentor: Matthew Stevens

DoYeon Kim (she/her): Gayageum performer

Bandleader: Kris Davis; Creative Mentor: Mark Dresser

Melissa Almaguer (she/her): Tap dance/feet percussion, multidisciplinary artist, educator

Bandleader: David Virelles; Creative Mentor: Susie Ibarra

Nora Stanley (she/her): Saxophonist, composer

Bandleader: Tyshawn Sorey; Creative Mentor: Ellen Arkbro

For full bios on each cohort member, read New Music USAs announcement.

With gender and racial justice as guiding principles, this group of Next Jazz Legacy awardees was chosen through an open application call followed by a meticulous review process by a distinguished panel of jazz luminaries, chaired by Terri Lyne Carrington, NEA Jazz Master and Next Jazz Legacy's artistic director. Once the awardees were selected, Carrington and the Next Jazz Legacy team worked closely with each musician to pair them with a master bandleader for a yearlong performance apprenticeship and a creative mentor, both aligned with the artist's unique interests.

The selection committee for the 2025 Next Jazz Legacy cohort also included Aja Burrell Wood, Angelica Sanchez, Caroline Davis, Liberty Ellman, Matthew Stevens, and Neal Smith.

This new cohort of Next Jazz Legacy artists represents a dynamic fusion of backgrounds, talents, and perspectives, embodying a commitment to innovation and artistic excellence within the jazz community. As a genre that has long embraced cultural diversity and creative exploration, jazz continues to evolve through the voices of musicians from all traditions. This year's cohort highlights that evolution, featuring artists who push boundaries, from the use of unconventional instruments such as the traditional Korean gayageum to Afro-Cuban percussion influences to a multidisciplinary tap artist. Beyond their musical achievements, these artists have overcome challenges including sexism, socio-economic barriers, and limited access to opportunities, further reinforcing the program's mission to foster equity and inclusion in jazz.

Cofounded by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, Next Jazz Legacy (NJL) has made a remarkable impact by providing invaluable experiences to its two cohorts of awardees and aiding in their artistic development:

100 percent of the NJL awardees state they have grown as an artist both as a side-person and as a performer.

100 percent state they have achieved their goals and have increased confidence.

86 percent are continuing their relationship with their assigned bandleader beyond the NJL program.

71 percent will continue their relationship with their NJL mentor.

100 percent of NJL awardees feel more connected to and have a stronger sense of belonging in the jazz community after participating in the program.

Awardees have performed at some of the most prestigious jazz events across the country, including Winter Jazzfest (New York City), Mary Lou Williams Festival (Washington, DC) and DC Jazz Festival, and Angel City Jazz Festival (Los Angeles). Next Jazz Legacy awardees have also had the chance to work and perform with some of the most acclaimed names in jazz including Makaya McCraven, esperanza spalding BM '05, Tia Fuller, Nasheet Waits, Moor Mother, Brandee Younger, Patrice Rushen, Craig Taborn, Nicole Mitchell, Marcus Miller, Regina Carter, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Helen Sung, Bobby McFerrin, the late Wayne Shorter, and two recent Grammy winners, Meshell Ndegeocello and Miguel Zen n BM '98. Next Jazz Legacy has gained national recognition from top media outlets like the PBS NewsHour, Billboard, Grammy.com, AllArts, and more.

Building on this success, the 2025 Next Jazz Legacy cohort will take the stage for the first time together in NYC on Wednesday, May 14, at the Jazz Gallery, with sets at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

By the end of this fourth year of the program, Next Jazz Legacy's impact will have grown to encompass the direct support of 29 emerging artists; the engagement of 87 bandleaders and mentors; 348 creative and business mentorship sessions; 1,174 apprenticeship sessions; 24 cohort learning sessions; and 14 showcase performances.

I'm very excited about Next Jazz Legacy moving into its fourth year, said Carrington. We have been working with some amazingly diverse improvisers in jazz, as well as seasoned veterans, toward a more inclusive jazz future. I have always felt that onstage apprenticeship was
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/new-music-usa-and-berklee-ins...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/05/2025

Release Rundown: What to Watch in May, From The Moogai to Pee-wee as Himself

Paul Reubens appears in Pee-wee as Himself, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Michael Ochs A...

01/05/2025

Best in Class' Touts the Anthems That Defined Student Listening in Celebration of This Year's 2025 College Graduates

After four years of lectures, study sessions, exams, and parties, college senior...

01/05/2025

Nielsen Launches The Ad Supported Gauge, a New Look at the Ad-Supported TV Landscape

72.4% of overall TV viewing in Q1 2025 is of content that includes advertising ...

01/05/2025

LiveNow From Fox Hits a Half Billion Q1 Views on YouTube

NEW YORK LiveNow From Fox, Fox Television Stations' national news streaming service, has released viewing data showing the first quarter was the best quarte...

01/05/2025

Android TV Expected to Dominate Smart, CTV Market by 2030

The global installed base of Smart TVs and Connected TV (CTV) devices will reach 4.2 billion units by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2.65 billion in 2025,...

01/05/2025

Samsung TV Plus Adds 5 New Sports Channels

Samsung TV Plus has announced that it is expanding its existing lineup of more than 50 sports channels with five new free, ad-supported streaming television (FA...

01/05/2025

Carlo DiMarco Joins USSI Global

MELBOURNE, Fla. Carlo DiMarco has joined USSI Global as vice president of strategic marketing and growth, with responsibility for strategic business development...

01/05/2025

NAB to FCC: Dont Delete Certain Retransmission Rules

WASHINGTON The NAB has filed a wide-ranging rebuttal to proposals by the pay TV industry that the FCC delete and/or significantly change rules governing retrans...

01/05/2025

Fired CPB Board Members Sue Trump Administration

WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the pre...

01/05/2025

Riedel Opens Hong Kong Office

HONG KONG Riedel Communications today said it has opened a new office in Hong Kong, enhancing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region....

01/05/2025

NextGen TV: Sinclair Applauds New ATSC 3.0 D2M Phones

MUMBAI, India & BALTIMORE In a development that could advance efforts to bring NextGen TV to cellphones, FreeStream Technologies, Lava International and HMD hav...

01/05/2025

Screen Australia empowers 100+ distinctive Australian narratives

01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...

01/05/2025

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller Locked

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...

01/05/2025

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton May 1, 2025 0 Comments CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...

01/05/2025

Telling the Story: Extensive Technical Setup Delivers Comprehensive Special Olympics Coverage

Telling the story: Extensive technical set-up delivers comprehensive Special Oly...

01/05/2025

Just Around the Bend: Olympic Broadcasting Services Readies for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Just Around the Bend: Olympic Broadcasting Services Readies for the Milano-Corti...

01/05/2025

Wireless Microphone Spectrum Alliance Gets Going With Lobbying To Ensure RF Access

Wireless Microphone Spectrum Alliance Gets Going With Lobbying To Ensure RF Acce...

01/05/2025

Putting the DPA 2017 to the voiceover test

Voice actor and producer Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff shares his first impressions of the DPA 2017 Shotgun Microphone, from real-world auditions to side-by-side compa...

01/05/2025

Toto take DiGiCo Quantum 852 and Quantum 338 on world

With my previous console, Freeman recalls, I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an op...

01/05/2025

Brand new culinary showdown comes to RT Player

Stream all episodes ofLook Who's Hangry from April 29 An RT Player Original in partnership with Heinz...

01/05/2025

Tnaiste Simon Harris, Lottie Ryan and Boyzlife among guests on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! T naiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and T...

01/05/2025

New documentary Bad Nanny tells the story of serial scammer Samantha Cookes

Exclusive interviews and un-seen footage feature in new two-part series...

01/05/2025

May the Cloud Be With You: GeForce NOW Unveils 21 New Games This Month

May brings more than just rainbows and sunshine - it's also time for fresh adventures and epic battles. This GFN Thursday spotlights 20 can't-miss games...

01/05/2025

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who managed congregation's assets are now convicted jailed child sexual abusers

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who were senior leaders a...

01/05/2025

RT Statement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project

RT Statement The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project is one of the projects that was funded from the proceeds of RT 's land sale in 2017, the init...

01/05/2025

RT is Supporting 28 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this May

Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on This May, RT is delighted to support Bealtaine Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, and Dublin Dance Fest...

01/05/2025

Wandercraft Begins Clinical Trials for Physical AI-Powered Personal Exoskeleton

For Nicolas Simon, advancing the field of robotics is a personal mission that could change his siblings' lives. Two-thirds of Simon's family members us...

30/04/2025

Inside the Archives: Preserving and Saving At-Risk Films Takes a Village

Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...

30/04/2025

Spotify and EA SPORTS Team Up To Pilot a New Kind of Audio Experience

EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...

30/04/2025

Tucker Wetmore Celebrates His Debut Album Release With an Intimate Performance for Fans

The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...

30/04/2025

Spotify Celebrates Mexico's Booming Podcast Scene With First-Ever Podcast Awards

Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...

30/04/2025

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award 30 April, 2025 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...

30/04/2025

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives 30 April, 2025 Media releases SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...

30/04/2025

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Join HPA

By Joyce JC Cataldo The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...

30/04/2025

On-Demand Imagery: Enhancing Monitoring and Analysis with Advanced Streaming Platforms

An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...

30/04/2025

WPSD-TV Taps Bitcentral To Modernize Playout

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...

30/04/2025

Baris Zavaroglu Appointed CEO of Zero Density

AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...

30/04/2025

The Avit Group Elevates Audio-visual Experiences with Mar...

The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...

30/04/2025

NXTGENbps brings portable, sustainable battery solutions...

NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...

30/04/2025

Van Dyke Scores Hit with Hockey Comedy Shoresy Shot on Ze...

Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...

30/04/2025

PlayBox Neo presents Next-Generation Smart Media Solution...

Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...

30/04/2025

QuickLink StudioEdge Transforms Remote Contributions for...

ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...

30/04/2025

UK Pavilion exhibitors continue to impact at CABSAT and S...

The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...

30/04/2025

Lightware Reinforces ESG Commitment with Participation in...

Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...

30/04/2025

LiveU to Demonstrate LiveU IQ in UK For The First Time at...

LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...

30/04/2025

Calrec MPTS 2025 Preview

Stand: A40 Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...

30/04/2025

Buckinghamshire New University opens advanced virtual pro...

Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...

30/04/2025

Collective Newsroom chooses nxtedition for seamless workf...

Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...

30/04/2025

FOR-A Showcases Next-Generation Broadcast Solutions at CA...

Connecting the present, building the future FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...