A few years ago, Next Jazz Legacy began as a joint initiative of New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. The program, devoted to the cultivation of apprenticeships for women and nonbinary musicians, trained its first cohort of artists in 2022, with subsequent cohorts in 2023 and 2024. Today, the program confirmed another three-year cycle, supported by a $1.25 million gift from the Mellon Foundation.
The news arrives just as Next Jazz Legacy begins accepting applications for its fourth cohort. That window will remain open until Nov. 12; to apply or learn more, visit Next Jazz Legacy’s program page at New Music USA.
Terri Lyne Carrington — NEA Jazz Master, and Founder and Artistic Director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice — leads Next Jazz Legacy in partnership with Vanessa Reed, the President and CEO of New Music USA. “I’m seeing big strides at this stage in the journey of gender justice in jazz,” Carrington attests in a press statement. “People across the gender spectrum are making their own inquiries as to why this issue has been the way it’s been for so long and why it needs to change.”
Each Next Jazz Legacy fellowship includes an unrestricted $10,000 grant; a year-long mentorship with an established artist; performing partnerships with institutions like the Kennedy Center; peer-learning sessions led by Carrington and others; a 12-week course from Berklee Online; and other artistic and business opportunities. Some musicians who have benefited from the program are now prominent voices on the scene, including trombonist Kalia Vandever, trumpeter Milena Casado, and bassist Kanoa Mendenhall.
A member of the current cohort, drummer Eliza Salem, reflects in a statement about the program’s impact: “Most underrepresented people within the music community have found themselves in situations where their voice is silenced, where they are singled out, where they are left to fight for themselves, and where they suffer in silence as an act of self-preservation,” she says. “By helping artists such as myself to develop our skills and confidence as musicians and to gain access to necessary opportunities, Next Jazz Legacy ensures a more equitable future for the community with an emphasis on advocacy, accountability, and leadership.”
Reed reaffirms this intention, looking back on the program’s past three years and ahead to the next three. “Thanks to the Mellon Foundation and Terri Lyne Carrington’s visionary leadership this program is more than a stepping stone for emerging artists,” she says. “It’s a community-wide platform that demonstrates how collaborative mentorship and support across generations can drive the entire field toward a more inclusive and resilient jazz future.”
For more information about Next Jazz Legacy, visit its website.
