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Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will present Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, the music residency program for young people, March 32 - April 5, 2009, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The Jazz Ahead program identifies outstanding, emerging jazz artists in their mid-teens and twenties, and brings them together under the tutelage of experienced artist-instructors who coach and counsel them, helping to polish their performance, composing and arranging skills.

The week-long residency program will include daily workshops and rehearsals with established jazz artists, and will culminate in three concerts on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage which will be broadcast live over the internet.

Betty Carter, who possessed one of this era's most extraordinary voices, was devoted to jazz education. She brought her Jazz Ahead program, which has launched the careers of several of today's stars including Cyrus Chestnut, Jason Moran and Jacky Terrasson, to the Kennedy Center in 1998.

2009 Application InformationApplication Deadline: November 14, 2008

The Two-Week Residency Includes:

  • One-on-one instruction from residency leaders
  • Performance of original compositions
  • Jazz History Class
  • Business of Jazz Class
  • Discussion of the life of Betty Carter
  • Networking opportunities with other young jazz musicians
  • Performances on Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, broadcast live, worldwide on the Internet
  • Possible tour to other northeast U.S. cities/venues

Resident Faculty Have Included:

  • Kenny Barron, pianist
  • Terence Blanchard, trumpeter
  • George Cables, pianist
  • John Clayton, bassist
  • Nathan Davis, saxophonist
  • Curtis Fuller, trombonist
  • Winard Harper, percussionist
  • Chip Jackson, bassist
  • Carmen Lundy, vocalist
  • Curtis Lundy, bassist
  • Bob Magnusson, bassist
  • Jimmy Owens, trumpeter
  • John Patitucci, bassist
  • Eric Reed, pianist
  • Stephen Scott, pianist

Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Alumni Include:

  • Miri Ben Ari, violinist
  • Maurice Brown, trumpeter
  • Grace Kelly, saxophonist
  • Sonja Kitchell, vocalist
  • Lage Lund, guitarist
  • Jason Moran, pianist
  • Aaron Parks, pianist
  • Christian Sands, pianist
  • Marcus Strickland, saxophonist

Questions?

Call Kennedy Center Jazz at (202) 416-8348 or email us at artsabroad@kennedy-center.org