Established as one of this era’s preeminent drummers, Terri Lyne Carrington has had a career characterized by breaking barriers, from being the youngest person admitted to Berklee College of Music, to becoming the first woman to win a Grammy award in the jazz instrumental category.

Beyond a prolific performance career extensively touring with jazz luminaries Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, Carrington has worked to raise the voices of women and gender nonconforming artists. In 2022, she authored the seminal collection, New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers, and a children’s book, Three of a Kind about the Allen, Carrington, Spalding trio. Moreover, she’s dedicated herself to cultivating the future of the genre through arts leadership and curation, exemplified by her SiriusXM radio show, Future Flavors. Her work aims to preserve and expand jazz’s legacy, while welcoming a new generation of listeners and practitioners. 

Deeply motivated by discipline exchange, she is a frequent collaborator with poets, choreographers, and visual artists including Mickalene Thomas and Carrie Mae Weems. Her practice explores critical questions around identity, legacy, and racial justice. Presenting and commissioning institutions include Detroit’s Carr Center, MIT, Emerson Media Arts Gallery, Arena Stage, Barnes Foundation, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Park Avenue Armory.   

In recognition of her ongoing contributions to jazz, Carrington has received honors from The Recording Academy, Doris Duke Foundation, NEA, Manhattan School of Music, York University, and Berklee College, where she currently serves as founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.