The ASCAP Foundation has announced the 2020 recipients of the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards, a program established in 2002 to encourage jazz composers up to the age of 30. The recipients are listed below in alphabetical order with their age, current residence, and place of origin (if applicable).
David Bernot, 25, Denver, CO (Gilbert, AZ)
Eri Chichibu, 27, Boston, MA (Miyagi, Japan)
Eddie Codrington, 23, Kalamazoo, MI (Ann Arbor, MI)
Grace Corsi, 23, Los Angeles, CA (Seattle, WA)
Angelo Di Loreto, 29, New York, NY (Buffalo, NY)
Eliana Fishbeyn, 24, New York, NY (Chapel Hill, NC)
Shimon Gambourg, 24, Brooklyn, NY (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Giveton Gelin, 20, New York, NY (Nassau, Bahamas)
Bryce Hayashi, 17, California
Jisu Jung, 25, Boston, MA (Seoul, Korea)
Takumi Kakimoto, 25, Boston, MA (Himeji, Japan)
Dave Meder, 29, Corinth, TX (Tampa, FL)
Zachary Rich, 26, Greeley, CO (Wichita, KS)
Rin Seo, 29, Long Island City, NY (Seoul, South Korea)
Jueun Seok, 27, Rochester, NY (Seoul, South Korea)
Matthew Thomson, 25, Boston, MA (Sydney, Australia)
Elliott Turner, 24, Greeley, CO (Tacoma, WA)
Gary (Kaiji) Wang, 24, Rochester, NY (Beijing, China)
Matthew Whitaker, 18, Hackensack, NJ
Drew Zaremba, 28, Greeley, CO (Yorba Linda, CA)
Composers receiving Honorable Mention this year are Michael Echaniz, 25, Oakland, CA; Chase Kuesel, 25, Brooklyn, NY (Norwalk, CT); and Martina Liviero, 28, Brooklyn, NY (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
The Alpert Awards carry the name of trumpeter and ASCAP member Herb Alpert in recognition of his foundation’s multi-year financial commitment to the program. The recipients, who receive cash awards, were selected through a juried national competition; the ASCAP composer/judges for the 2020 competition were Hilary Kole, Keyon Harrold, and Oscar Perez. Through a partnership with the Newport Festival Foundation, one of this year’s award recipients will also be featured on stage at the 2020 Newport Jazz Festival, slated for August 7-9 in Newport, R.I.
