Meet the Miles Davis Centennial Contest Adjudicators
The Miles Davis Centennial Arranging Contest was created to bring arrangers together to create new interpretations and celebrate the music of Miles Davis, one of the most influential musicians in history. To evaluate the submitted arrangements, we were honored to work with a panel of accomplished educators, arrangers, musicians, and members of the Miles Davis Estate.
Each judge brought a unique perspective and a deep understanding of jazz, arranging, and creative expression to the evaluation process. They considered musical concept, stylistic voice, melody and harmony, ensemble writing, form, and playability, while recognizing what made each arrangement a distinctive interpretation of Miles Davis’s music.
We’re grateful to the Miles Davis Estate and Reservoir for their collaboration and support throughout the contest, and to all of the arrangers, judges, and musicians who helped make this special celebration possible.
Before we announce the winners and runners up, get to know the judges who evaluated this year’s submissions and helped make the contest possible!
Lenny White
Being one of the newer innovators on his instrument, Lenny White has found the time to expand and reinvent his career by also becoming a great producer. His producing talents have been sampled by Nancy Wilson, Chaka Khan, Diane Reeves, Rachelle Ferelle and Marlena Shaw just to name a few singers. Chaka Khan was nominated for a "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" Grammy as a result of her paticipation on Lenny's critically acclaimed "ECHOES OF AN ERA" project. He's also produced projects for Pieces Of A Dream, the late great Grover Washington, Gato Barbieri, Wayne Shorter, Wallace Roneyand hip-hop artist Big Daddy Kane. Not only has Lenny played with virtually everybody in the music business, he's also managed to stay in touch with numerous innovative musicians, helping create some of the most influential music of the past three decades. Along with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola he helped define Jazz-Fusion with the Grammy Award winning group, "Return To Forever". With fellow "Jamaica Boy" band member and great producer Marcus Miller, Lenny co-scored the music for Reginald Hudlin's critical and financially successful film,"HOUSE PARTY". Additionally, Lenny had a hand in the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film "SCHOOL DAZE."
Alternating between drummer and producer and always on the cutting edge of the music scene, Lenny has been continually pushing the musical envelope. 1968 was the year the great Jackie McLean asked an 18 year old Lenny to be a part of his band. The two drummers Jackie had employed right before Lenny were Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette. Everyone said Miles Davis was next. Lenny's 34 years in the recording industry was baptized in 1969 when he, as a teenager, performed on the landmark recording "BITCHES BREW" with Miles Davis. That Recording helped change the face of music for the next 34 years. He also appeared on trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's famous RED CLAY along with greats Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and the late great Joe Henderson. Lenny has been a part of more than a few landmark recordings. He's recorded eleven albums as a Leader and has toured Europe, The Far East, and The U.S. with his own bands. Recently, Lenny has participated in a number of performance panels at The Harvard Law School and Columbia University discussing the new directions of Jazz and Hip-Hop and the effects they have on our culture. Whether it's as a drummer, producer, or composer we know innovation and excellence are words synonymous with Lenny White.
Vince Wilburn Jr.
Vince Wilburn Jr. serves as the rhythmic pulse and musical anchor of the Miles Davis Estate. An accomplished drummer and producer who toured and recorded with his uncle during the innovative 1980s era, Wilburn played on and co-produced legendary albums including the GRAMMY®-winning AURA, Decoy, and You’re Under Arrest. His intimate knowledge of Miles’s creative process drives the Estate’s philosophy of "forward motion," ensuring the legacy evolves rather than remaining static. Wilburn is the bandleader of M.E.B. (formerly the Miles Electric Band), a collective of alumni and contemporary disruptors that has performed to sold-out crowds globally, from the Hollywood Bowl to the Black Sea Jazz Festival. As a producer, he spearheaded the biopic Miles Ahead and the Emmy-winning documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool. Wilburn builds bridges between jazz purists, electric fusion proponents, and hip-hop innovators that keep the music of Miles ahead of its time.
Erin Davis
Erin Davis, the youngest son of Miles Davis, brings a unique intergenerational perspective to the Estate, managing the visual brand, design, and "cool" factor that defined his father’s public persona. A musician in his own right, Erin toured with Miles on percussion in 1990 and later drummed for the rock group Bloodline, giving him deep roots in both the jazz and rock worlds. As head of the Davis Artists Group and a principal of Miles Davis Properties, LLC, he oversees brand partnerships and licensing, ensuring the integrity of the Davis image in fashion and multimedia. He served as an Executive Producer on the acclaimed film Miles Ahead and the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool. Erin’s focus is on expanding the audience for Miles’s music, leveraging the "Electric Period" to connect with younger listeners who value genre-bending innovation
Alan Baylock
Alan Baylock is an internationally acclaimed jazz composer, arranger, and educator whose works are performed worldwide. He currently serves as director of the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas, following a distinguished 20-year tenure as Chief Arranger for the United States Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note in Washington, D.C. As leader of the Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra, he recorded three critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively across the United States for over 15 years. Baylock earned degrees from Shenandoah University, where he later served as Jazz Composer-in-Residence, and the University of North Texas.
A passionate educator and clinician, Baylock has guest conducted more than 100 jazz ensembles at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels. He was a longtime faculty member of the National Jazz Workshop, directing its All-Star Big Band in performances nationwide.
Baylock is an active member of the Jazz Education Network and a dedicated advocate for gender equity in jazz. In 2022, he co-founded Brava Jazz Publishing with composer/arranger Annie Booth, a groundbreaking initiative committed to amplifying the voices of women composers and arrangers in big band jazz by providing a platform for their work to be published and widely distributed.
His compositions and arrangements have been performed or recorded by a remarkable roster of artists, including Melissa Aldana, Michael and Randy Brecker, Regina Carter, Paquito D’Rivera, Kurt Elling, Maynard Ferguson, Stefon Harris, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, Sean Jones, Dave Liebman, Allison Miller, Nicholas Payton, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Tierney Sutton, Kenny Werner, Phil Woods, and many others. His versatility has also led to collaborations across genres with artists such as Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Spyro Gyra, and symphony orchestras worldwide.
Alan and his wife of 30 years, Maria, live in Denton, Texas. Outside of music, he enjoys running, playing table tennis, and thrifting for unique shoes.
Annie Booth
Award-winning composer, arranger, pianist, and educator Annie Booth is known for her clear and captivating musical voice. Her work has been recognized by organizations including Chamber Music America, the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC), ASCAP, Downbeat Magazine, and more. In 2025, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies in the Thompson Jazz Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Booth’s compositions span across genres—small-group jazz, big band, chamber, and symphonic—with commissions from leading performers and institutions around the country. Her compositions for large jazz ensemble are published on Alfred Music and Brava Jazz. As a bandleader and recording artist, Annie has performed with her groups at major jazz venues and festivals across the US including the Telluride Jazz Festival and SXSW. She has released eight albums and her 2024 release, Here, There and Everywhere: The Beatles Songbook (Live), which the Canadian outlet Textura called “first-rate…terrific.”
A passionate and respected educator, Annie frequently directs All-State Jazz Ensembles, adjudicates national festivals, and brings her energy and expertise to schools and universities across the country. In 2017, she launched the SheBop Young Women in Jazz Workshop with the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts, creating a joyful, empowering space for girls and non-binary students to experience mentorship and self-expression in jazz. In 2023, she co-founded Brava Jazz Publishing, a pioneering platform dedicated to amplifying the work of women composers and arrangers in jazz.
She holds a BM in Jazz Piano Performance and a MM in Jazz Performance & Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Quincy Davis
Quincy Davis is Professor of Drum Set at the University of North Texas and an internationally active jazz drummer, educator, composer, author, and content creator. Over the course of his career, he has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, appeared on more than 75 recordings as a sideman and leader, and built a reputation as one of the leading voices in jazz drum set education.
As a performer, Davis has shared the stage and studio with many of the most respected artists in jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones, Kurt Elling, Benny Green, Regina Carter, Tom Harrell, Russell Malone, Ted Rosenthal, Steve Turre, Marcus Printup, and Terell Stafford. His performing career has taken him to major jazz clubs, festivals, concert halls, and educational institutions around the world, where he continues to balance an active schedule of performances with his teaching and creative work.
As a bandleader, Davis has released two critically acclaimed recordings under his own name, Songs in the Key of Q and Q Vision. As a composer, his work spans small jazz ensembles, large jazz groups, and classical chamber settings. His compositions reflect a deep respect for the jazz tradition while embracing contemporary influences, a love for melody and harmony, and creative collaboration.
In 2024, Davis premiered Empathy Suite, a large-scale third-stream composition that blends jazz improvisation with classical chamber music influences. The work reflects his ongoing interest in bringing together the spontaneity of jazz and the structural possibilities of contemporary concert music. Whether writing for a small group, jazz orchestra, or chamber ensemble, his music seeks to balance structure, spontaneity, and expressive depth.
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Davis developed a passion for jazz at an early age. He attended Interlochen Arts Academy before earning a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Michigan University, where he studied with legendary drummer Billy Hart. He later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Music Composition from Vermont College of Fine Arts. His musical development was shaped by a deep respect for the jazz tradition and a lifelong commitment to understanding both the history and artistry of the music. Before joining the faculty at the University of North Texas, Davis served as Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, where he taught for seven years. For more than fifteen years he has worked with students ranging from complete beginners to aspiring professionals and established performers. His teaching emphasizes swing feel, time, listening, the tradition, sound production, musical interaction, and developing an authentic personal voice on the instrument.
In addition to his university teaching, Davis is widely known through his educational content online. He is the creator of the popular YouTube channel Jazz Drum Q-Tips, where more than 300 lessons have generated over 7 million views and reached drummers around the world. Davis is also a longtime faculty member of the Seiko Summer Jazz Camp in Japan and has presented clinics and masterclasses throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Whether performing, teaching, composing, or creating educational content, his mission remainsthe same: to help musicians connect more deeply with the jazz tradition while developing the skills and confidence needed to express themselves authentically through music.
Ayn Inserto
Ayn Inserto is a dynamic composer and one of the leading voices of her generation. She received her Master of Music degree in Jazz Composition from the New England Conservatory and was picked by Bob Brookmeyer to study jazz composition as his protégé.
Her music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, Dizzy's Club (Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC), Stadtgarten (Köln), the Berklee Performance Center, Vanderbilt University, Boston Symphony Hall, JEN Conferences, New England Conservatory of Music, Brown University, Montreux Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival, Terni Jazz Festival, the Fano Jazz Festival and other venues.
Inserto has been commissioned by the WDR Big Band, Carnegie Hall for the NYO Jazz Ensemble, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, The Jazz Education Network, Harvard Jazz Band, ComposeHers by JazzHers, Jennifer Wharton and by many others. She and Jim McNeely arranged and orchestrated the music of Linda May Han Oh for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band (Hessischer Rundfunk) and was the music director and conductor for two performances, one at Centralstation Darmstadt and a second at hr-Sendesaal Frankfurt. She has given masterclasses and clinics at the Panama Jazz Festival, IMEP Paris College of Music, International College of Music in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Seoul Jazz Academy, Arcevia Jazz Seminar, Rossini Conservatory of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium and at many other institutions.
She also has been a clinician for the JENerations Jazz Festival, an adjudicator for the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship, and the International Alliance for Women in Music Jazz Composition Contest. She's been a guest artist for the MMEA All-State Jazz Band in Boston, the Association for Music in International Schools Honor Jazz Festival in Hong Kong, NAfME All-Northwest Jazz Ensemble, Slippery Rock University Jazz Festival, the BCMEA Honour Jazz Ensemble in Vancouver, Iowa All-State Jazz Festival and the University of Eugene, Oregon within which she has programmed music mainly comprising of women composers and arrangers. She is a mentor for the Women in Jazz Organization, a member of the Board of Directors for the Jazz Education Network and a voting member for the GRAMMYs (Recording Academy).
Her big band, the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, has recorded three albums with special guests Bob Brookmeyer, John Fedchock, George Garzone and Sean Jones. The ensemble has garnered many positive reviews such as Downbeat Editor's Pick, The Boston Globe 2018 Best Jazz Albums, and the Jazz Journalists Association Best of 2018 (Large Ensemble) List. A fourth album of her music was also recorded by the Colours Jazz Orchestra and a fifth album of a "live" concert with the WDR Big Band and Sean Jones. She currently resides in Boston where she is the Assistant Chair of Harmony and Jazz Composition at Berklee College of Music and is a Jazz Composers Present Artist.
Christine Jensen
As a Downbeat Critic’s Poll winner for Rising Star Big Band, Arranger, and Soprano Saxophonist, Christine Jensen is constantly in motion leading her own jazz orchestra and small ensemble. Her jazz orchestra recordings have gone on to win Juno awards, including Habitat (2014) and Treelines (2011). She is two-time recipient of SOCAN’s Hagood Hardy Jazz Composer Award. Habitat received the coveted 5 stars in Downbeat, along with being included at the top of several international critic’s polls, including Jazz Album of the Year in 2014.
Jensen’s music has taken her all over the world, where she has received numerous commissions and conducting opportunities in Canada, the US and Europe. Her recent guest artist residencies have brought her to Frost School of Music-UMiami, The New School, University of Michigan, UMO Jazz Orchestra, Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, and Luxembourg Jazz Orchestra. She has performed with Jeremy Pelt, Phil Dwyer, Ben Monder, Gary Smuylan, Geoffrey Keezer, Lenny Pickett, and Donny McCaslin, as well as directing Terrence Blanchard with the Orchestre National Jazz de Montreal. She is founding artistic director and conductor of the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra, as well as the past artistic director of Orchestre National Jazz de Montreal. As a saxophonist, Jensen continues to collaborate on small and large ensemble projects with her sister Ingrid Jensen out of New York, along with the addition of guitarist Ben Monder with Infinitude.
Teachers and mentors include Kenny Werner, Jim McNeely, Dick Oatts, Remi Bolduc and John Hollenbeck. Since 2006, she has held composition and arranging lecturer positions at McGill University, Purchase College, University of Sherbrooke as well as guest professor at University of Montreal, as well as being artistic director of McGill Jazz Orchestra and small ensembles.
Charles Pillow
With 9 recordings to his credit, Charles Pillow is one of the premier woodwind instrumentalists/saxophonists of the day. His first major professional gig was with Woody Hermans’ Thundering Herd in 1987/88. Upon moving to NYC in 1989, he became immersed in the scene and joined the Maria Schneider jazz orchestra, David Liebman’s big band, John Fedchock’s New York big band among others and played on recording sessions for Bob Belden, Bob Mintzer, Joe Henderson’s big band, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Brad Mehldau, Wynton Marsalis, Ted Nash Big band, Paul Simon, Luther Vandross, Jay Z, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Harrell.
His small group recordings, “Pictures at an Exhibition” 2003 and “The Planets” 2006, both on Artistshare, feature his reworking of classical themes. In 2016, he formed his own large ensemble and has recorded 2 cd’s “Electric Miles” 2018, and“Electric Miles 2” 2023, conducting and arranging music from Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way and other Miles Davis’ 1970’s material.
His arrangements have been performed by the David Liebman big band, Miami University/Frost School jazz ensemble, Eastman school of music and the UMass/Amherst big band. His saxophone, flute, clarinet and oboe playing can be heard on film projects, commercial jingles and TV shows.
Since 2012, he is the Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music.
Mike Steinel
Mike Steinel is Professor Emeritus of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas, where he taught for 32 years before retiring in 2019. As a performer, composer, educator, and author, he has presented concerts and clinics throughout the United States and abroad. His publications include Building a Jazz Vocabulary, Running the Changes, and the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble series. As a recording artist, he has released First Waltz (Chicago Jazz Quintet), Song and Dance (Origin Records), and Saving Charlie Parker (Rosewood Audio). He is also the author of the novels Saving Charlie Parker and Murder at Birdland, a multimedia project combining fiction, original music, and podcast storytelling.
