South Arts Announces 31 Jazz Road Tours Grant Recipients
South Arts has announced the latest recipients of their Jazz Road Tour program — part of their national initative to support US jazz artists. The 31 selected artists will receive more than $375,000 in funding to help support touring their work into communities across the country. These latest recipients are added to the growing list of artists that South Arts is assisting to get back on the road as venues re-open for audiences following the COVID-19 restrictions.
Jazz Road Tours is one component of the Jazz Road program, developed to spread jazz throughout the country, strengthen work opportunities and compensation for jazz artists, and bolster deeper engagement between jazz musicians, presenters and communities. Through Jazz Road, South Arts is investing $5.5 million in the nation’s jazz infrastructure by giving grants directly to artists so they can expand and explore their work while receiving equitable pay.
“The past six months have shown that performance possibilities frozen by the pandemic are thawing out for jazz artists,” says Sara Donnelly, South Arts’ Director of Jazz. “Though jazz has lost important venues, many are booking shows again, and artists are carefully weighing a safe return to touring. There is such exuberance in realizing these tours. We are glad to build toward a national framework for gig sustainability and better pay for artists as we look toward the tail end of the pandemic.”
Of the 31 artists selected in this round of funding, seven are from, or have tour dates in, the Western States.
Jazz Road Tours grants remain open, accepting applications on a rolling basis for tours occurring through June 2022. Artists from around the country may apply for funds through South Arts’ website to support three- to six-site tours with grants of up to $15,000.
Jazz Road is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The program is led by South Arts in partnership with the five other U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and Western Arts Alliance/WESTAF).
Visit www.southarts.org or call 404.874.7244 to learn more about Jazz Road and the Jazz Road Tours recipients and their projects.
Jazz Road Tours — Western States Artists/Tour Dates
Jamie Baum and the Jamie Baum Septet+ New York, NY | Grant Amount: $15,000
Tour Information:
10/14/2021 - The Outpost in Albuquerque, NM
10/16/2021 - Athenaeum in La Jolla, CA
10/18/2021 - The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, WA
10/20/2021 - Imagine Jazz at Holy Names Music Center in Spokane, WA
10/21/2021 - Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz, CA
10/23/2021 - Redwood Jazz Alliance in Arcata, CA
Damon Zick and Quarteto Nuevo | Los Angeles, CA | Grant Amount: $15,000
Tour Information:
9/24/2021 - Mission Valley Live in Polson, MT
9/26/2021 - Alpine Artisans in Seeley Lake, MT
9/27/2021 - The Stave & Hoop in Missoula, MT
10/1/2021 - The Alberta Bair Theater in Billings, MT
Steve Carrington and the Steve Carrington Quintet | Bronx, NY | Grant Amount: $10,500
Tour Information:
12/3/2021 - The 1905 Jazz Club in Portland, OR
12/6/2021 - Parker Jazz Club in Austin, TX
12/10/2021 - Compass Christian Church in Akron, OH
The Smoogies | Miami, FL | Grant Amount: $10,650
Tour Information:
4/30/2022 - Altamirasound in Los Angeles, CA
5/7/2022 - The Andes Hotel in Andes, NY
5/7/2022 - Meat and Flowers in Hamden, NY
5/2/2022 - Elastic Arts in Chicago, IL
5/4/2022 - Bad At Sports Radio in Chicago, IL
George Colligan and Theoretical Planets | Portland, OR | Grant Amount: $10,479
Tour Information:
10/23/2021 - The Jazz Station in Eugene, OR
10/24/2021 - Ted Brown Music Recital Hall in Tacoma, WA
10/25/2021 - Sherwood High School in Sherwood, OR
10/26/2021 - The 1905 in Portland, OR
10/29/2021 - California State University Northridge in Los Angeles, CA
11/2/2021 - Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA
Samara Joy and the Pasquale Grasso Trio | New York, NY | Grant Amount: $15,000
Tour Information:
12/9/2021 - Blue Strawberry in St. Louis, MO
12/10/2021 - Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AK
12/16/2021 - Jazz Vivace in Cincinnati, OH
12/17/2021 - Bop Stop in Cleveland, OH
12/18/2021 - Cliff Bell's in Detroit, MI
David Weiss and The Cookers | New York City, NY | Grant Amount: $15,000
Tour Information:
9/19/2021 - Aretha's Jazz Cafe at Music Hall in Detroit, MI
9/21/2021 - Jazz Alley in Seattle, WA
9/26/2021 - Bach Dynamite and Dancing in Half Moon Bay, CA
