I am honored and excited to be chosen as a participant in the 2009 Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead residency which is presented by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  I will get to attend two weeks of masterclasses and workshops in late March and give performances with other young jazz musicians from around the country.

From the 2008 BCJA press release:

Betty Carter founded Jazz Ahead as a vehicle to bring new life into jazz and teach the most promising fledgling artists what she knew. She originally developed the program in 1993 at 651, an arts center in Brooklyn, and the first concert was presented at the BAM Majestic Theater. In 1997, the Kennedy Center and Dr. Billy Taylor invited Carter to bring Jazz Ahead to Washington, D.C. On April 15, 1998, a delighted audience in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall heard the results of Carter’s intense week of work with a group of 20 young jazz artists. Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead had a new home and Carter was filled with hope for the future of the program. After Carter’s death in September 1998, Dr. Billy Taylor and the Kennedy Center decided to continue her legacy by making the Jazz Ahead program, with the principles Carter laid down as the foundation, an annual event. Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead alumni include Cyrus Chestnut, Jason Moran, Jacky Terrasson, Aaron Parks, Lage Lund, Andre Hayward, Marco Panascia, Ameen Saleem, Miri Ben-Ari, Daniela Schaechter, and more.

As the date of the residency approaches, I’ll post about my experiences there, as well as information about the concerts, which will be free, open to the public, and also broadcast live on the internet.

**UPDATE 03/23/09**

It seems this post is the fifth most popular result when you search for “betty carter jazz ahead 2009.”  I’m here in DC on the first day of the residency and multiple participants have mentioned to me that they stumbled across this when looking for more information.  Hi guys!