New Music USA And Berklee Institute Of Jazz And Gender Justice Reveal 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Cohort

Next Jazz Legacy has revealed 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. 

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 NEA Jazz Master and Next Jazz Legacy's Artistic Director, Terri Lyne Carrington. Once the awardees were selected, Carrington and the Next Jazz Legacy team worked closely with each of the musicians to match them with a master bandleader for a year-long performance apprenticeship, as well as a creative mentor, both of whom are aligned with the awardees' 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.

The fourth cohort of eight 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 with unconventional instruments such as the traditional Korean gayageum, Afro-Cuban percussion, and even a multidisciplinary tap artist-underscoring Next Jazz Legacy's dedication to expanding the scope of the jazz tradition. 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. The members of this year's cohort are:

Alexandra Ridout (she/her): Trumpeter, Bandleader, Composer & Educator.
Bandleader: Melissa Aldana; Creative Mentor: Marquis Hill.
Manhattan, NY

April May Webb (she/her): Vocalist, Composer & Educator
Bandleader: Danilo Perez; Creative Mentor: Ledisi
West Hartford, CT

Brenda Navarette Guzman (she/her): Afro-Cuban Percussionist, Singer & Composer
Bandleader: Kassa Overall; Creative Mentor: Terri Lyne Carrington
Miami, FL

Carmen Quill (she/her): Upright bass, Composer, Songwriter.
Bandleader: Billy Hart; Creative Mentor: Becca Stevens
Brooklyn, NY

Chanelle Ignant (she/her): Guitarist, Educator & Composer
Bandleader: Meshell Ndegeocello; Creative Mentor: Matthew Stevens.
Oakland, CA

DoYeon Kim (she/her): Gayageum performer
Bandleader: Kris Davis; Creative Mentor: Mark Dresser.
Brooklyn, NY

Melissa Almaguer (she/her): Tap dance/feet percussion, Multidisciplinary artist & Educator
Bandleader: David Virelles; Creative Mentor: Susie Ibarra
Brooklyn, NY

Nora Stanley (she/her): Saxophonist & Composer
Bandleader: Tyshawn Sorey; Creative Mentor: Ellen Arkbro
Brooklyn, NY

Co-founded by New Music USA and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, Next Jazz Legacy has made a remarkable impact in its first two years by providing invaluable experiences to its two cohorts of awardees and aiding in their artistic development:

• 100% of the NJL awardees state they have grown as an artist both as a side-person and as a performer
• 100% state they have achieved their goals and have increased confidence
• 86% are continuing their relationship with their assigned bandleader beyond the NJL program
• 71% will continue their relationship with their NJL mentor
• 100% 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 New York City's Winter Jazzfest, Washington, DC's Mary Lou Williams Festival & DC Jazz Festival, and Los Angeles' Angel City Jazz Festival. 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, 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 Zenón. Furthermore, Next Jazz Legacy has gained national recognition from top media outlets like 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 this spring in NYC, date and venue TBC.

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
• 1174 apprenticeship sessions
• 24 cohort learning sessions
• 14 showcase performances.

Next Jazz Legacy Artistic Director and GRAMMY award-winning artist Terri Lyne Carrington says about the new cohort:

"I'm very excited about Next Jazz Legacy moving into its fourth year! 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 on-stage apprenticeship was highly beneficial in my own development and am so happy that we can assist these incredible emerging musicians with apprenticeship and mentorship in their artistic journey."

New Music USA President & CEO Vanessa Reed adds:

"I'm thrilled to welcome our latest cohort of Next Jazz Legacy awardees to the fourth year of this pioneering program which lays the foundation for a more inclusive jazz future. Thanks to the Mellon Foundation's renewed support of our program until 2027, vital funding, collaborative learning, and performance opportunities will now benefit many more awardees, bandleaders and mentors from the jazz community. I look forward to staying in touch with the growing community of Next Jazz Legacy alumni when I move to my new role at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in the UK in May."

2025 Next Jazz Legacy awardee Melissa Almaguer shares:

"I am so excited to be part of the 2025 Next Jazz Legacy cohort. As a woman tap dancer in this industry, to be acknowledged and accepted as a musician in this program is reassuring and an honor. I'm looking forward to learning from all the resources that NJL provides and to receive guidance from some of my biggest inspirations. I'm grateful for programs like this that are community-oriented; in this chaotic world it's important to have a safe space where you are supported and guided."

ABOUT THE 2025 NEXT JAZZ LEGACY COHORT

Alexandra Ridout is a trumpeter, bandleader, composer and educator based in Harlem NYC.

Alexandra received the BBC Young Musician Jazz Award 2016, British Jazz Awards 'Rising Star' 2018, was named one of 'London's Most Influential People' under 25 in 2019, a Parliamentary Jazz Awards nominee 2020, won the Laurie Frink Career grant in 2022 and recently received 'Best Soloist' at the 'Keep an Eye International Jazz Award 2023' and 2nd place at the Prestigious Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet competition 2023.

Alexandra's exquisite playing is sought out by many revered international musicians including Renee Rosnes, Pablo Held, Orlando Le Fleming, Dave Douglas, Jochen Rueckert, Arturo O'Farrill, Dayna Stephens and Christine Jensen. She was on multiple occasions a featured artist with Pablo Held as part of his 'Pablo Held Meets...' series in Germany and regularly works with ECM artist Kit Downes and award-winning saxophonist Alex Hitchcock.

Alexandra is also a busy performer with her own bands of various sizes in New York City, at venues such as America's premier performance space The Jazz Gallery and venues/festivals further afield. She was a showcased performer/composer in the International Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) with her trio in New York in 2022. The Festival is curated by world famous jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas, who she performed with in the FONT in 2024 and recorded an album with his new project 'Alloy' in 2025. She also can be found performing regularly at Birdland Jazz Club with Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and in many other bands including Jochen Rueckerts quartet, Blue Note supergroup Artemis and Dayna Stephen's 'Custom Deluxe'. She has performed at many festivals around the world including Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, recently an artist in residence at the Guimarães Jazz Festival, Unity Jazz Festival at the Lincoln Centre, London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Jazz Festival and many more across Europe and is regularly touring around Europe and the US with her own projects and as a side person.

April May Webb is an award-winning vocalist, composer, and educator from Newton, Kansas, and the 2024 WINNER of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. She made history as the first Black woman to graduate from The William Paterson University Jazz Education program, where she studied under the mentorship of Mulgrew Miller.

April May co-founded Sounds of April & Randall with her husband, trumpeter Randall Haywood-a boundary-pushing ensemble blending jazz with gospel, R&B, country, and global influences from their international tours. Sounds of April & Randall was appointed as a U.S. Cultural Ambassador through the American Music Abroad Program, a successor to the Jazz Ambassadors initiative that once featured jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

As part of this role, they toured the South Pacific, sharing jazz on an international stage.
April May has toured with jazz legend T.S. Monk. She was also selected as a Woodshed Network Artist, an exclusive program founded by NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater to support women in jazz. Additionally, she has been inducted into the Newton Fine Arts Hall of Fame.

April May continues to push the boundaries of jazz, blending tradition with innovation while captivating audiences worldwide.

Brenda Navarrete Guzman is one of the most prominent percussionists in contemporary Cuban music, renowned for her mastery of the batá drums and her ability to fuse Afro-Cuban tradition with jazz, rumba, and global sounds. A graduate of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, she has been part of projects such as Alafia, Obiní Batá, and Interactivo, bringing Afro-Cuban percussion to international stages.

Her album Mi Mundo marked a milestone in her career, honoring Yoruba spirituality and expanding her music to audiences in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, Colombia, the United States, and France.

She has collaborated with artists such as Mista Savona, Lutan Fyah, Prince Alla, France Nooks, I-Maali, Guts, David Walters, Havana Meets Kingston, Isaac Delgado, Osaín del Monte, Kelvis Ochoa, La Dame Blanche, Harold López-Nussa, and Hilario Durán, and has shared the stage with Jon Batiste, Cimafunk, Chucho Valdés, Paquito D'Rivera, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Ibrahim Maalouf, Pedrito Martínez, Aymee Nuviola, Emily Estefan, Yissy García, Yusa, Wampi, Alfredo Rodríguez, and Monsieur Periné.

Her talent has been recognized in major media outlets such as Billboard, and she has appeared on BBC, NPR, CNN en Español. She was awarded at the National Fiesta del Tambor Competition (2010) and has received recognition at international jazz and World Music festivals.

Brenda Navarrete represents the evolution of Afro-Cuban percussion worldwide, standing out as one of the few women to master the batá drums at a professional level, establishing herself as an influential artist in and beyond Cuba.

Carmen Quill (formerly known as Carmen Q. Rothwell) is an upright bassist, composer, songwriter and interdisciplinary artist working primarily in jazz, improvised and experimental music. Based in Brooklyn, NY, she is known for her sound and versatility on the double bass, her intuitive sensitivity as an improviser, and her captivating performances as a solo artist. Her debut solo recording, Don't Get Comfy / Nowhere (2020), "thrives on the meeting of reservation and vulnerability, and its songs feel as emotional and virtuosic as a power ballad yet are sparse and withholding as a Rembrandt" (Pitchfork). She co-leads the band tilt with Kalia Vandever and Isa Crespo Pardo, and performs regularly with the Allan Mednard Trio, Scree and a host of other projects and collaborations.

Chanelle Ignant is a guitarist, educator, and composer based in Oakland, CA. Mostly self- taught over the last 15 years, her style blends jazz, funk, and acoustic soul. She has performed at Bay Area staples including Yoshi's, Freight & Salvage, and The Independent, and has been involved in session work and writing camps throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

DoYeon Kim is an internationally acclaimed artist known for her uniquely broad and deep musical approach. Traditionally trained on the gayageum (an ancient Korean zither), her work synthesizes Korean, jazz and improvisation idioms, and she is regarded worldwide for introducing the gayageum into contemporary music. Recognized as one of 7 Musicians Pushing Ancient Asian Instruments Into The Future (Grammy.com, 2021), she has received the Van Lier Fellowship (2023) and been nominated for a Korean Grammy Award (crossover category, 2018).

During her traditional Korean training, DoYeon won numerous international competitions (e.g. Dong-A Ilbo Traditional Music Competition; On-Nala Korean Music Competition), and later received graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory (contemporary improvisation department) and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute; in both programs, she was the first student ever admitted playing a Korean traditional instrument. DoYeon has since served on faculty at the New England Conservatory and The New School, and guest lectured at many universities worldwide, including Harvard, Franz Liszt Academy and Universidad Nacional De Colombia.

DoYeon regularly leads her own music projects comprising various formats (trio, quartet, quintet, large ensemble) and collaborates with numerous composers and performers. She is an invited composer for the Delirium Musicum string orchestra, and music director and conductor for the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra, a traditional music orchestra in Korea. She has performed and recorded alongside many notable musicians, including Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Evans, Matt Mitchell, Anna Webber, Joe Morris, Tony Malaby, Mat Maneri, Cooper- Moore, William Parker, Jim Snidero, Dave Douglas, Orrin Evans, Linda Oh and Rudy Royston.

Melissa Almaguer is a multidisciplinary tap artist, improviser and educator born and raised in Mexico now based in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently the bandleader of several improvisation collectives including praesēns, Angel of Air/ Angel of Water and Melissa Almaguer Trio. Besides her projects as a bandleader and soloist she has also collaborated with Moor Mother, Irreversible Entanglements, William Parker, Luke Stewart, Elio Villafranca, JALCO, amongst others. She has appeared in works of today's major tap exponents including her teacher Derick Grant, Dormeshia, Michela Marino Lerman, Jumaane Taylor and Christina Carminucci.

In her short time in New York City, Melissa has performed in venues like Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, The Joyce Theater, National Sawdust, The Jazz Gallery, Kaufman Music Center, and Jamaica Center of the Arts, to name a few. As an educator, she is currently on faculty at Steps On Broadway and Harlem School of the Arts and continues to hold workshops all around the world.

Nora Stanley is a multi-instrumental improviser, songwriter, and performer based in Brooklyn. Stanley primarily uses saxophone and flute as well as guitar, voice, and synthesizers in her work which spans genres including jazz, folk, rock, and experimental music. As both a solo artist and a collaborator her music emphasizes openness, connection, and interaction, exploring the vast possibilities of texture, rhythm, and harmony. Stanley performs original music with her quartet as well as the duo World of Flowers (saxophone+effects/drums+effects) and the trio Sprat (voice/woodwinds). In 2023 she released Distance of the Moon (Colorfield Records) with collaborator Benny Bock to acclaim from the New York Times, Fader, and Downbeat Magazine. Interested in cross- cultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration, Stanley performs with a Balinese Gamelan and has a project with dancer Corinne Lohner. In addition to her work as a leader Stanley frequently contributes woodwinds and more to recordings and performances with improvisers, rock bands, and songwriters. She has toured with Chris Morrissey, Caroline Rose, The New Pornographers, and Beth Orton and has appeared on recordings alongside Jeff Parker, Mark Giuliana and Jerry Gonzalez.

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