Music Professor Receives Prestigious Jazz Road Creative Residency Grant

Jake Hertzog, assistant professor in the Department of Music, was named one of the 2023 Jazz Roads Creatives by the South Arts Organization. This national residency program awards 20 jazz artists from 14 states, providing them with grants ranging from $5,000 to $40,000.

“I’m so thrilled to be a recipient of this grant and honored to be in a cohort of such distinguished artists,” said Hertzog, who will receive a grant of $38,250 to complete his project in the upcoming spring.

His creative residency will be hosted by the University of Arkansas and will include recording an album of original music with a large ensemble of a jazz orchestra and string quartet, as well as a premiere performance of the new music at the 2024 UARK Jazz Festival. The ensemble is a 20-member band that will be augmented by four string players for this project.

“This opportunity is incredibly meaningful to my own artistic career, and I am also excited for the chance to work with so many members of our music community, including colleagues here at the university,” added Hertzog.

Hertzog’s main artistic collaborator on the project will be jazz composer, arranger and conductor, Susumu Watanabe, director of the Tokyo Brass Art Orchestra and a recent hire in the U of A Department of Music’s jazz program.

“Dr. Watanabe is a brilliant composer and arranger,” said Hertzog. “He is an amazing fit for the project due to his modernist aesthetic style and international conducting experience.”

The project is made possible with the support of Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program works with other regional arts organizations to help jazz artists foster creativity, connect with other artists, and meaningfully integrate their music into their various communities.

“We are at such an amazingly creative time for the field of jazz,” said Drew Tucker, director of jazz for South Arts. “Artists are building their work across disciplines, blending with new media in exciting ways, and propelling their artistry forward while still looking at the legends who paved the way. South Arts is so excited to support artists with these resources so they can enact their dreams.”

The program received more than 220 applicants who were reviewed by a panel of specialists in the jazz field on the criteria of artistic excellence, project narrative, residency outcomes, capacity and more. Only 20 accomplished artists were chosen to receive the grant to support them in creative projects occurring between July 2023 and June 2024.

For more information about the nonprofit regional arts organization South Arts, visit southarts.org.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.