These 25 Performers Could Shape Jazz For Decades

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Veronica Swift has both a historical connection to the music and a desire to expand its artistic purview.

(Photo: Giancarlo Belfiore/Umbria Jazz)

​Welcome to our enthusiastic, optimistic look at the future.

Below, DownBeat presents short profiles of two dozen musicians who, like Veronica Swift, have the potential to shape the direction of jazz in the decades to come. DB

Yazz Ahmed

Fabian Almazan

Lakecia Benjamin

Theo Croker

Yussef Dayes

James Francies

Nubya Garcia

Morgan Guerin

Jazzmeia Horn

Shabaka Hutchings

Jimmy Macbride

Makaya McCraven

Camila Meza

Hedvig Mollestad

Nduduzo Makhathini

Adam O’Farrill

Junius Paul

Tomeka Reid

Alfredo Rodríguez

Joel Ross

Christian Sands

Veronica Swift

Luke Stewart

Camille Thurman

Kuba Więcek

These stories originally were published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.



  • Al_Foster_Marketing.jpg

    Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

  • Branford_Marsalis_by_Mark_Sheldon_copy.jpg

    “Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”

  • Sasha_Berliner_by_Gulnara_Khamatova_copy.jpeg

    “What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.

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    Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.

  • kZYVcIag_copy.jpg

    Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.


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