Today, South Arts is pleased to announce the Winter 2024 Jazz Road Artists—16 artists and ensembles receiving funding from the Jazz Road Tours initiative to promote and tour their artistry around the nation.
Jazz Road Tours grants support jazz musicians with awards ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to tighten the pay gap faced by artists when compared to their touring expenses. Beginning with the current application cycle, South Arts has increased the eligible expenses to also support childcare costs, in addition to personnel, travel, and lodging needs when spending time on the road.
“Jazz Road was designed to be responsive to artists’ needs,” said Drew Tucker, South Arts’ Director of Jazz. “We are constantly exploring new ways to bring resources in support of their work. There are so many excellent artists out there who want to connect with audiences, but are faced with juggling expenses related to caring for young families at home. We hope that this change to our program can help more artists, especially those caring for children, advance their careers.”
The Winter 2024 artist cohort represents the full breadth of contemporary jazz, from 20th Century Brazilian popular music to the intersections of choro, samba, prog rock, and neo soul. Each selected artist submitted an application and work samples, which were reviewed and selected by a panel of experts across the genre’s field. Based on the artistic excellence and merit of the proposed tour, the artists were chosen to receive support for their performances between April and September 2024.
The Winter 2024 Jazz Road Artists are:
- Sam Thousand and the Soul Vortex | Chicago, IL
- Ami Molinelli with Duo Violão Plus One | San Francisco, CA
- Kelley Hurt with No Tears Project Ensemble | North Little Rock, AR
- Dion Kerr’s ‘eko vizion meusik’ | Delray Beach, FL
- Hillai Govreen Quartet | Brooklyn, NY
- Or Bareket Quartet | Brooklyn, NY
- Jesse Fischer Quartet | Brooklyn, NY
- Jim Gailloreto with the Metropolitan Jazz Octet | Chicago, IL
- Joel Shotwell with JAS Quintet | Sioux Falls, SD
- Julian Quall with Mamey | Chicago, IL
- Natalie Boeyink with Batuquê Trio | Bloomington, IN
- Anthony Stanco Quintet | Lansing, MI
- Natalie Cressman and Ian Faquini | Berkeley, CA
- Dan White with Huntertones | San Francisco, CA
- Javier Santiago | Glendale, CA
- Shane Dähler with Daruma | Denver, CO
Their individual tours will begin as early as April and continue through September 2024, spanning cities across the U.S. like Washington, DC; Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Wichita, KS; Miami, FL; Twin Lake, MI; Philadelphia, PA; Memphis, TN; Durham, NC; and Indianapolis, IN.
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. Jazz Road is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation.
Since launching in 2018, Jazz Road has provided more than 280 artists with more than $3M in funding to share their work on a national scale and advance the field through Jazz Road Tours and Jazz Road Creative Residencies grants.
Applications for Jazz Road Tours are being accepted through 2026 with multiple deadlines per year. The next deadline for applications is March 1, 2024. To learn more about the Jazz Road, view previous artists, and learn about funding opportunities, visit southarts.org.