Atlanta —February 20, 2023— Today, South Arts is pleased to announce the Winter 2023 Jazz Road Artists—12 artists and ensembles receiving funding from the Jazz Road Tours initiative to promote and tour their artistry around the nation.
Relaunched in 2022 by South Arts with funding from Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, Jazz Road Tours annually supports approximately 50 jazz artists with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to cover a portion of tour expenses and tighten the pay gap between artists and presenters. Some of these expenses include venue and travel fees, equitable pay for the artists, or costs of management, coordination, and promotion.
Each of the artists submitted a written application and work samples, which were reviewed and selected by a panel of experts across the jazz field. Based on the artistic excellence and merit of the proposed tour, the Winter 2023 Jazz Road Artists were selected—the first of this new funding cycle.
“We are so thrilled to welcome the Winter class of Jazz Road Artists and help elevate their artistry on stages across the nation,” said Drew Tucker, Director of Jazz with South Arts. “Among this pool of artists, there are a range of career levels and accomplishments from debut tours and album releases, emerging American Indian artists, queer vocalists, to African American string ensembles, and Grammy-award winning composers. This class is representative of the heart and diversity that has not only carried the cultural footprint of this genre, but also its expansion.”
The Winter 2023 Jazz Road Artists include:
- The Danielle Wertz Quintet: Other Side Release Tour. New York, NY
- LP And The Vinyl (Danny Green). La Mesa, CA
- The Delbert Anderson Trio. Kirtland, NM
- Edward Simon Group. Emeryville, CA
- Glenn Wilson. Normal, IL
- The Greg Satterthwaite Quartet. Dacula, GA
- Jonathan Suazo – Ricano. Quincy, MA
- Joshua Espinoza Trio. Baltimore, MD
- Mali Obomsawin Sextet. Portland, ME
- VIBEAT (Nathaneal Skinner). West Palm Beach, FL
- Firey String Sistas. Bronx, NY
- Terry Jenoure & Secret to Life; featuring Angelica Sanchez. Northfield, MA
Their individual tours will officially begin as early as March 2023 and continue through September 2023, spanning cities across the U.S. like Athens GA; Brooklyn, NY; Durham, NC; Miami, FL; Madison, WI; Luquillo, PR; San Diego, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Turners Falls, MA; Alstead, NH; and more.
A core component of South Arts’ national Jazz Road initiative, Jazz Road Tours is coordinated in partnership with five fellow regional arts organizations: Arts Midwest, Mid America Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts Alliance, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Western States Arts Federation.
Since launching in 2018, Jazz Road Tours has provided 137 artists with $1.8M in funding to expand their footprint on a national scale. In its current application cycle, those numbers will double.
Applications to Jazz Road Tours are being accepted through 2026 with multiple deadlines per year. The next deadline is March 8, 2023. To learn more about the Jazz Road, view previous artists, and learn about funding opportunities, visit southarts.org.
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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.