News

Alumni Happenings

Sept. 21 – Oct. 4, 2022

1997 piano alum Robert Glasper, a four-time Grammy winner (with 11 nominations), performs
during the inaugural Format Festival at the Sugar Creek Airstrip in Bentonville AR on September
23. Glasper has just been announced as a Jazz FM Awards 2022 nominee; public voting for the
award remains open until September 26 at www.jazzfmawards.com, and winners will be
announced at Shoreditch Town Hall in London England on October 20, 2022. Meanwhile, you
can catch Glasper headlining at the Indy Jazz Fest in Garfield Park, Indianapolis on October 2,
and he embarks on a 48-show (24 nights) “Robtober” residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in
NYC, October 4 – November 5.

Performances

2008 trumpet alum Benny Benack III performs with his quartet and in a late-night jam session
at Smalls in NYC on September 21. Benack then hosts a night full of shows at the Django, in the
Roxy Hotel in NYC, in a celebration of the club’s seven-year anniversary on September 24.

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (2000) performs at City Winery in Washington DC on
September 22.

Saxophonist Grace Kelly (2008) performs at The Niswonger in Van Wert OH on September 23.
Kelly also performs at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Phoenix AZ on October 2.

Bassist David Wong (1999) is on the bandstand at Mezzrow in NYC for two shows on
September 23.

Saxophonist Natalie Barbieri (2019) and her band perform on September 23 at the Bitter End in
Northport NY.

Pianist Jeremy Siskind (2003) takes the stage with bassist Luther Hughes and singer Debi Raven
on September 23 at Ubuntu Café in Long Beach CA. And on September 29, Siskind performs
with vocalist Frieda Lee in the Jazz Salon at the LA Athletic Club in LA.

The band Lambchop performs September 23 and 24 as a 16-piece ensemble that includes Cole
Davis (2013 bass) at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, in advance of the band’s September
30 release of The Bible.

2012 piano alum James Francies is at the Houston Blues and Jazz Festival on September 24 at
713 Music Hall in Houston TX.

Pandemic Preludes, a solo piano recital project that is part of the Classical Keys 2022-23 season,
features a prelude premiere by 2006 piano alum Noah Kellman on September 24 at the First
Baptist Church in Morristown NJ.

1997 saxophone alum Terrace Martin is among a multi-generational lineup of musicians
performing September 24 in the “Reimagine Loss, Life & Love festival,” hosted by Leimert Park
Village in LA, bringing together themes of loss, life, and love through song.

Lakecia Benjamin (1999 saxophone) is in the lineup for the 65th Monterey Jazz Festival in
Monterey CA on September 24. Other Workshop alumni performing at that festival are: Russell
Hall (2010 bass), with the Emmet Cohen Trio on September 24; Katie Thiroux (2005 bass),
leading the MJF Women in Jazz Combo on September 24; Keyon Harrold (1997 trumpet) on
September 25; and Gerald Clayton (2002 piano) with the Gerald Clayton Trio on September 25
and directing the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra the same day.

2002 piano alum Sullivan Fortner and his trio perform September 26 and 27 at Dizzy’s Club in
NYC.

Micah Thomas (2013 piano) performs with his trio at Smoke Jazz Club in NYC on September 28.

Trumpeter Christian Scott (2001), now known as Chief Adjuah, is a featured performer at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Live’s outdoor music series on October 1 at Fort Greene
Park in Brooklyn NY.

Recordings

1997 trumpet alum Keyon Harrold collaborated with singer Jamison Ross on Ross’s newly-
released album JAMO; listen to “Freedom Ain’t Easy” here.

The newly-released, self-titled debut album by the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra features
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (2007 saxophone) on tenor sax on the opening track, “I’ve Got
Algorithm.” Listen here.

Saxophonist Braxton Cook (2009) has released a new EP, Black Mona Lisa. Here’s the title track.

Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Standards – Vol. 1 features musical contributions from
2011 saxophone alum Elena Pinderhuges (listen to her on flute on “Respected Destroyer”) and
2000 trumpet alum Ambrose Akinmusire (here he is on “Rounds”).

Violinist Sarah Bernstein’s new VEER Quartet album features Nick Jozwiak (2004 bass) on cello;
listen to “News Cycle Progression.”

Percussionist Makaya McCraven’s new album, In These Times, releases on September 23 and
features 1999 saxophone alum Greg Ward. Listen to ” Seventh String.”

Jeremy Siskind (2003 piano) has arranged several songs on classical singer Julia Bullock’s solo
recording debut, Walking in the Dark, due out December 9; listen to one of his arrangements
on that album, “One By One,” here.

Recognitions, Awards & Other Items of Note

Jazzwise magazine has named vocalist Samara Joy’s Linger Awhile, with 1999 alum David Wong
on bass, as one of the best new jazz albums to date in 2022.

2023 American Pianists Award Jazz Competition finalist Esteban Castro (2018 piano) sits for a
Question and Answer session on September 21 in the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel
DeHaan Fine Arts Center, at the University of Indianapolis.