Next Jazz Legacy (NJL), the national apprenticeship and mentorship program from New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, will present its fifth cohort of emerging artists at the DC Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 5, 2026, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Union Stage.
The performance brings together the seven musicians selected for the 2026 NJL cohort: Alden Hellmuth, Allison Philips, Destiny “Lé Queen” Diggs, Devon Gates, Lily Finnegan, Sequoia “REDWOOD” Snyder, and Siya Charles. Each artist has spent the year in a bandleader apprenticeship paired with a veteran of the music, working alongside mentors including Allison Miller, Braxton Cook, Camae Ayewa, Jason Moran, Jeff Watts, and Sylvie Courvoisier, with additional creative mentorship from Andrew Cyrille, Aneesa Strings, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Dianne Reeves, Ingrid Laubrock, Marilyn Crispell, and Steve Davis.
Next Jazz Legacy Artistic Director and GRAMMY-winning artist Terri Lyne Carrington says of the fifth cohort: “Onstage apprenticeship was instrumental in my own artistic development, and it is deeply meaningful to now help provide these outstanding emerging musicians with the mentorship and hands-on experience that will support them in their continued growth.”
Now in its fifth year, Next Jazz Legacy pairs emerging jazz artists with established bandleaders and mentors for a year of onstage apprenticeship, professional development, and cohort learning, with funding from the Mellon Foundation. The program is led by Carrington, alongside Aja Burrell Wood, Managing Director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, and is operated in partnership with New Music USA and Kendolyn Walker, New Music USA’s Next Jazz Legacy Program Manager.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Alden Hellmuth is a saxophonist, composer, and improviser based in New York City. A graduate of the Herbie Hancock Institute, she received the 2025 German Jazz Prize for Debut Album of the Year (International) and has performed at NYC Winter Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, and Blue Note Jazz Festival.
Allison Philips is a Brooklyn-based trumpeter, composer, and educator. She leads her own quartet, whose debut album Make it Better was released on Dox Records in May 2025, and has performed with Alfa Mist, Japanese Breakfast, and Yo La Tengo.
Destiny “Lé Queen” Diggs is a bassist, composer, and bandleader from Newark, NJ. She completed her master’s degree at the Herbie Hancock Institute in 2025 and has performed at Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, working with Dianne Reeves and Jon Batiste among others.
Devon Gates is a bassist, vocalist, and composer from Atlanta, now based in Brooklyn. She has worked with Terri Lyne Carrington, Vijay Iyer, and Jen Shyu, and is featured on bass and vocals on Carrington’s GRAMMY-nominated release We Insist 2025.
Lily Finnegan is a Chicago-based drummer, composer, and improviser. She leads her quartet Heat On, whose debut album was released on Cuneiform Records, and has collaborated with James Brandon Lewis and Ken Vandermark.
Sequoia “REDWOOD” Snyder is a Washington, DC-born musician, producer, and composer blending jazz, R&B, soul, and hip-hop. She showcases her vocal and production talents on her debut album Red 2 Go and has headlined at the Kennedy Center and Dizzy’s Club.
Siya Charles is a New York City-based South African trombonist, composer, and arranger. A magna cum laude graduate of The Juilliard School, she received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz in South Africa in 2025.
DC JazzFest at The Wharf will feature a dynamic lineup of jazz legends, rising stars, and boundary-pushing artists, including NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joshua Redman, Kurt Elling Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets Celebrate Weather Report, Bill Frisell, Danilo Pérez , Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, Isaiah Collier (John Coltrane centennial tribute), Nasar Abadey & SUPERNOVA (Miles Davis tribute), the African Rhythms Alumni Quintet (honoring Randy Weston), Ben Williams, Brandon Woody, Artist-in-Residence Emmet Cohen, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, Ekep Nkwelle, Orrin Evans with Lisa Fischer, JazzDC® All-Stars directed by Paul Carr, ASCAP winner Hannah Marks, Next Jazz Legacy, and more. The festival will also feature pianist and composer Michele Rosewoman, a 2025 Jazz Legacies Fellow, bringing her acclaimed Quintessence ensemble back in a renewed form, with original member Greg Osby along with new collaborators.
The 2026 lineup deepens its regional roots with newly added DMV artists including Alfred Yun, Charles Rahmat Woods, Felix Contreras, José André, Dan Murray, Shacara Rogers, Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio, Fran Vielma, 2025 DC JazzPrix winner José Luiz Martins, Kenny Rittenhouse, and Son Cubano Subterraneo.
Continuing its commitment to jazz as a global language, DCJF will welcome international artists through its embassy partnerships, including flutist Elsa Nilsson of Sweden, Pureum Jin of South Korea, vocalist Laura Anglade of France, and additional artists to be announced in partnership with the European Union.
DC JazzFest’s marquee weekend unfolds across six stages at The Wharf, Washington’s premier waterfront destination, and nearby Arena Stage. The Wharf offers riverfront views, restaurants, shops, hotels, and convenient access via Metro, roadway, and water taxi.
For more information, full lineup announcements, and tickets, visit dcjazzfest.org
ABOUT NEXT JAZZ LEGACY
Next Jazz Legacy is a national apprenticeship and mentorship program focused on elevating early-career jazz artists. Designed by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, the program’s mission is to increase opportunities for musicians who will contribute to a vibrant and inclusive jazz future. Next Jazz Legacy invests in its awardees through intergenerational apprenticeships and mentorship, showcases, cohort learning, and an unrestricted grant supporting creative and professional development. The program is made possible with funding from the Mellon Foundation. newmusicusa.org/program/next-jazz-legacy
ABOUT NEW MUSIC USA
New Music USA is a national non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing a vibrant and inclusive community for artists and listeners. To us, that means welcoming all the artists, organizations, and audiences contributing to the sounds of today and tomorrow. In addition to providing grants and mentorship to support the many musical ideas being created and performed today, we encourage connections and curiosity to listen forward together. newmusicusa.org
About DC Jazz Festival
The DC Jazz Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that celebrates America’s original musical art form by presenting year-round programs and performances. Our mission is to present internationally renowned and emerging artists in celebration of jazz, unify diverse communities and enable connections between artists and audiences, advance jazz and music education, provide performance opportunities for DC-based musicians, and highlight DC as a major and vibrant center for jazz. With dozens of performances in venues across the city, the annual DC JazzFest is one of the world’s largest music festivals. This international event attracts jazz lovers from around the world to the nation’s capital. The 2026 DC JazzFest will take place citywide, September 2-6. www.dcjazzfest.org.
