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.
Donor Name: New Music USA
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territory: American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 1o/16/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000
Details:
Next Jazz Legacy seeks to address inequalities in jazz by supporting early-career-stage artists whose access to resources has been limited. By offering creative and professional experience through long-term apprenticeships, financial support and promotion, Next Jazz Legacy aims to inspire change that will benefit everyone in the jazz community. Next Jazz Legacy is a partnership between New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice with major funding from the Mellon Foundation and additional support from Next Jazz Legacy donors.
Each selected awardee will receive: a $10,000 award, apprenticeship (performance opportunities with master bandleaders), creative and business mentorship sessions, four learning cohorts, and professional and promotional support.
The 3rd cycle (2023-24) of the Next Jazz Legacy program will include seven artists chosen by an esteemed panel of musicians, chaired by NJL Artistic Director Terri Lyne Carrington, with gender justice and racial justice as guiding principles. For applications to be considered, candidates are kindly requested to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria.
The Next Jazz Legacy program combines individual and group learning opportunities with financial support and promotion. The focus is emerging artists who are at a pivotal stage in the early phase of their career as a professional artist. From 2021-2024 we will support 7 artists per year with a comprehensive package of support that is designed to have deep impact on each participant’s career. Each participant will benefit from the following activities:
- Apprenticeship: learning by doing – performances under the stewardship of a master bandleader
- Creative and Business Mentorship Sessions: knowledge and guidance, passed from one generation to the next, from both artists and industry professionals
- Learning Cohort Sessions (4 per cycle):an opportunity for participants to learn together, exchange ideas and build a professional network under the guidance of Terri Lyne Carrington and with input from guest speakers
- (1) Berklee Online learning courseprovided by the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice
- Empowerment and promotion: experience for participants to present and communicate about their music via the Next Jazz Legacy podcast, short films and showcases developed in collaboration with partner presenters
- Financial investment: one $10k grant per apprentice, which enables participants to invest in the next stages of their career. Once selected, participants will be asked to propose how they would use their grant to cover specific costs that would contribute to their career development. This will be signed off by the NJL project team. Participants can consult with their business mentor for advice on best usage of funds.
Eligibility Criteria
Next Jazz Legacy seeks to support emerging artists whose access to resources and learning has been the most limited, including but not limited to, women of color and non-binary improvisers. This contributes to the jazz community as a whole by making it more accessible to a broader range of untapped artists and, longer-term, increasing the quality of the music itself.
The artist applying to this program must be:
- A woman or non-binary improviser in jazz
- An emerging artist with substantial professional experience
- 21-35 years old
- Based in the US or a US territory
- Available for full participation in the program between January 2024 and December 2024
At this time, this program will not consider supporting artists that are:
- Enrolled in an academic institution at any time during the duration of the program
- Contracted with a third party recording company
- Based outside of the US
- Not able to demonstrate their need for this program
For more information, visit New Music USA.
