New Music USA + Berklee — Next Jazz Legacy (2027 cohort)

Next Jazz Legacy is a year-long mentorship and apprenticeship program for emerging jazz improvisers, built by New Music USA and Berklee's Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice specifically to open doors for women, nonbinary and other musicians underrepresented in jazz. Accepted artists are paired with an established bandleader for a hands-on apprenticeship, join a peer cohort led by Terri Lyne Carrington, take a 12-week Berklee Online course, and get performance showcases and professional networking built around the program. Past mentors have included esperanza spalding, Gerald Clayton, Kris Davis and Bobby McFerrin.

Alongside the mentorship, each participant receives a $10,000 unrestricted grant toward their creative and career development — the program doesn't specify how or when it's paid out. It's open to musicians of any gender or sexual identity, with a clear focus on artists historically underrepresented in jazz; published program materials don't set out instrument or career-stage restrictions beyond that.

You apply online through SmartApply. The program doesn't publish exactly what materials it asks for — recordings, references or a statement — so it's worth checking the current year's application form directly rather than assuming. It also doesn't publish how finalists are chosen, beyond the involvement of the program director and an advisory board of jazz mentors.