Strong women

After esperanza spalding last year, the Artist in Residence in 2024 is once again one of contemporary jazz’s leading women: Meshell Ndegeocello, who presents a different program each day. Read more about this year's Artist in Residence here.

Like her, American singer Cécile McLorin Salvant is known for winning Grammys and is now considered one of the best jazz singers of her generation.

Last year, drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington made a big impact with the publication of a book of the sheet music of 101 jazz classics written by female composers. She selected several of those pieces for the album New Standards Vol. 1 and performed the project at the festival under the same name. This year not only is she returning with another selection of her New Standards, but on Friday she will curate Missouri, where young female talent of her choosing will perform throughout the evening. One of those choices is the Amsterdam-based Turkish singer and cellist Sanem Kalfa. She is accompanied by saxophonist Tineke Postma, Polish pianist Marta Warelis, also living in the Netherlands, and Korean drummer Sun-Mi Hong. The latter can be heard earlier in the evening with her own splendid quintet in the Hudson.

One last tip is the Pakistani Sufi singer Arooj Aftab, who will enthrall a packed Darling on Saturday with pieces from her widely acclaimed album Vulture Prince and its soon-to-be-released follow-up.