Inter-disciplinary artist, activist and educator Terri Lyne Carrington has worked tirelessly over the last decade to advocate for inclusivity and raise the voice of women, trans and non-binary people in jazz.
New Standards, her ambitious new endeavour, was created to shine a light on women composers in historic new ways. New Standards will arrive this fall in the form of a groundbreaking lead sheet book of jazz compositions dedicated entirely to women composers, a newly recorded album of 11 selections from the songbook featuring an all-star band and superb line-up of special guests, and a dynamic multi-media exhibition at Detroit’s Carr Center.
On September 16th Carrington will release "new STANDARDS vol. 1" on the relaunched Candid Recordslabel, featuring recordings of 11 selections from the New Standards lead sheets book (see below for more info).
Carrington on drums is joined by a core band of Kris Davis (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), and Matthew Stevens (guitar and co-producer) and welcomes special guests Ambrose Akinmusire, Melanie Charles, Ravi Coltrane, Val Jeanty, Samara Joy, Julian Lage, Michael Mayo, Elena Pinderhughes, Dianne Reeves, Negah Santos and Somi. The selections include harpist Brandee Younger’s 'Respected Destroyer,' clarinetist Anat Cohen’s 'Ima,' vocalist Abbey Lincoln’s 'Throw It Away'as well as pieces by Gretchen Parlato, Carla Bley and more. The recordings - which range from vocal ballads to contemporary creative music - are inspired and adventurous and explore the limitless universe of jazz.
Listen to 'Respected Destroyer' here (composed by harpist Brandee Younger)
Watch the album teaser here
Pre-order / Pre-save album here
New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers will be published by Hal Leonard on September 15. Curated by Carrington, it features 101 compositions from a remarkable range of acknowledged titans, young visionaries and unsung heroes in jazz: Mary Lou Williams, Alice Coltrane, esperanza spalding, Geri Allen, Maria Schneider, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Dorothy Ashby, Nubya Garcia, Nicole Mitchell and many others.
The book includes a 1922 piece by the influential Lil Hardin Armstrong and songs written in 2021 by emerging artists from Carrington’s Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. New Standards also celebrates the global world of jazz, from Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana to Japanese American pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and other international composers.
Says Carrington, “This endeavour in part serves as the kind of corrective work that needs to be done to make sure women’s voices as creators and intellectual thinkers in jazz are amplified, as well to make sure they–we–are not left to be rendered invisible in the future.”
New Standards is the first initiative for Berklee’s Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, which Carringtonformed in 2018, and a new chapter for the larger Jazz Without Patriarchy Project. New Standards was born out of necessity after Carrington was prompted to search for women composers in the infamous Real Book of jazz charts, and to her dismay, found virtually none. The project offers an alternative to the accepted jazz standards canon that has served students, teachers and professionals for decades. Other revised editions and additional recordings will be released in the future.
Following the release of the album and book in September, Detroit’s Carr Center will host New Standards, as the first part of the forthcoming larger exhibition Shifting the Narrative: Jazz and Gender Justice, from October 13 to November 27. Curated by Carrington, it will feature live performances, panel discussions, a photo exhibit, archival material and artwork created by many contemporary jazz artists on the theme of “new standards” as well as the installation’s three other sections: The Female and Non-binary Gaze, Invisible Labor, and Geri Allen and Mary Lou Williams In Conversation. Programs will be designed to engage with the residents and students of Detroit and its surrounding areas.
Carrington’s most recent album release was 2019’s "Waiting Game", featuring the band Social Science. "Waiting Game" earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Album and led to a New York Times profile and an NPR Tiny Desk performance. Last year she launched the Next Jazz Legacy apprenticeship program in partnership with New Music USA and the Mellon Foundation, which strives for a more inclusive jazz future.
"new STANDARDS vol. 1" Tracklist:
1) Wind Flower (Sara Cassey)
2) Circling (Gretchen Parlato)
3) Uplifted Heart (Shamie Royston)
4) Moments (Eliane Elias)
5) Continental Cliff (Patricia Perez)
6) Throw It Away (Abbey Lincoln)
7) Respected Destroyer (Brandee Younger)
8) Two Hearts (Lawns) (Carla Bley)
9) Unchanged (Marta Sanchez)
10) Ima (Anat Cohen)
11) Rounds (Live) (Marilyn Crispell)