National residency program awards 20 jazz artists across 14 states, totaling nearly $730k in support.
Atlanta —July 19, 2023— South Arts is pleased to announce the 2023 Jazz Road Creatives, grant recipients of the Jazz Road Creative Residencies national program providing direct support for jazz artists with grants ranging from $5,000 to $40,000. These grants support self-defined residency activities that advance their artistry, creative exploration, community engagement, and lifework in jazz.
Jazz Road Creative Residencies is a component of South Arts’ larger Jazz Road initiative, a 4-year national jazz program funded by the Doris Duke Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation. This program is produced in partnership with the five other U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and Western States Arts Federation).
An artist-centric program, Jazz Road Creative Residencies responds to what South Arts has heard from working jazz artists while promoting flexibility for how “residency” can be defined. Artists have expressed their need for time and resources to drive new creative vision; explore possible collaborations; and connect their music to communities in socially relevant and lasting ways. Support in these areas is viewed as crucial for musicians to reach new artistic and professional heights while building jazz partnerships and audiences throughout the nation.
"We are at such an amazingly creative time for the field of jazz," said Drew Tucker, director of jazz with South Arts. "Artists are building their work across disciplines, blending with new media in exciting ways, and propelling their artistry forward while still looking at the legends who paved the way. South Arts is so excited to support artists with these resources so they can enact their dreams."
Some of the projects funded through this initiative include:
- Andromeda Turre will complete, rehearse, and record her new work, “From The Earth.” This project aims to shed light on the disproportionate impact of climate change on BIPOC and connect communities with each movement of the four-part suite reflecting a different area of environmental decline.
- Ali Jackson will produce a modern documentary series entitled “Mind the Music” exploring artistic journeys of master musicians, through the film lens of the musician. Jackson will conduct interviews and personal interactions with a variety of masters in New York City and New Orleans.
- Quiana Parler will focus on preserving and promoting Gullah culture and its connections to jazz through authentic compositions inspired by stories and memories of Gullah elders. At Truphonic Recording studio, Ranky Tanky will dedicate a week to writing, rehearsing and creating demos which will be showcased in a special performance for public school children to support the local community through music and education.
- Nicholas Payton will be revisiting and re-orchestrating his first symphonic work—The Black American Symphony—originally written ten years ago to reflect who he is today. The result will be recorded at Sear Sound recording studio in New York City.
The 2023 Jazz Road Creatives are:
- Andrew Barnett of Atlanta, GA
- Bryan Carter of New York, NY
- Darrian Jerrell Douglas of West Orange, NJ
- Diane Downs of Louisville, KY
- Nelson Eubanks of Tulsa, OK
- Lenora Zenzalai Helm of Durham, NC
- Jake Hertzog of Fayetteville, AR
- Ali Jackson of Detroit, MI
- Laura Lambuley of Miami, FL
- Stephen Lehman of Altadena, CA
- Abel Mireles of El Paso, TX
- Chase Morrin of Jamaica Plain, MA
- Israel Neuman of Sugar Land, TX
- Jesse Palter of Huntington Woods, MI
- Quiana Parler of North Charleston, SC
- Nicholas Payton of New Orleans, LA
- Aditya Prakash of Los Angeles, CA
- Andromeda Turre of Katonah, NY
- Benjamin Williams of Los Angeles, CA
- Damon Zick of Burbank, CA
Following South Arts’ open-call for applications in early 2023, more than 220 applications were reviewed by a panel of specialists in the jazz field on the criteria of artistic excellence, project narrative, residency outcomes, capacity, and more. The panel reflected diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic representation as well as range in jazz aesthetic points of view and experience. Artists were able to define their projects based on their own career’s needs, and request up to $40,000 to support projects occurring between July 2023 and June 2024. The next round of Jazz Road Creative Residencies applications is anticipated to open in 2025.
Since its establishment in 1975, South Arts has been dedicated to supporting the arts and cultural ecosystem of its nine-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For more information on the Jazz Road Creative Residency program or South Arts’ other programs, visit southarts.org.
About South Arts
South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.
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