Giovanni Russonello
Giovanni Russonello has the unique position of jazz critic and political columnist for The New York Times, where he has covered two presidential campaigns and countless live gigs in between. In addition to working for over a decade as a journalist, he has been co-running CapitalBop, Inc., a ten-year-old community 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted to presenting, promoting and preserving jazz in Washington, D.C. as a way of building community and warding off cultural erasure in a city that’s increasingly riven by gentrification.
As a fellow, Giovanni will work on the book “The First Minute of a New Day: Gil Scott-Heron’s Revolution,” which tells the story of the great poet, musician, activist and messenger who did more than perhaps any other figure to illuminate the hopes and frustrations of African-American life in the years immediately following the Civil Rights Movement.