Meet the Grantees: Brinae Ali

Growing up with a father who is a tap dancer, singer, and self-taught conga player, Brinae Ali caught the music bug at a very young age. Yet it was a collegiate political science course that truly solidified her path as an artist. 

After graduation, the Michigan-born dancer’s career took off. Brinae performed in the New York City Center Encores’ production of Cotton Club Parade, the 2016 adaptation of Shuffle Along on Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Salute to Betty Carter, and in STOMP (both off-Broadway and the National Tour). She also taught interdisciplinary tap and jazz programs in New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Flint Michigan Public Schools, and the Apollo Theater Education Department. In 2019 she and husband Sean Jones formed the Baltimore Jazz Collective, and in 2024, they applied for—and were awarded—CMA New Jazz Works grant to support her newest work, The Baby Laurence Legacy Project. 

In time for CMA’s 2025 New Jazz Works grant application period (deadline February 27), we caught up with Brinae to learn more about her journey as a tap dancer and composer, and about her project.

How did you get into composing/songwriting and what inspires you as a songwriter? 

In high school I became obsessed with people like Sarah Vaughn, Stevie Wonder, Gregory Hines, Lauryn Hill, and Al Jarreau. I would listen to their phrasing and the content of their songs and try to embrace it when thinking about my own music. While I was in college, I was taking a political science class, and I felt like I needed an outlet to process all the information that I was learning about crime and the impact that the prison system has on people of color and those who are impoverished. I made a pledge to myself that I would make sure to use my art as a platform to speak about the injustices of our society while also upholding traditions and progressing forward through culture. Growing up around music, I always understood it as a tool of self-expression and healing, so I am often inspired to write when I feel the need to respond to a thought, feeling, or experience that I may be going through in life with the intent to not only help myself, but to help others in the process.  

While preparing for this interview, I was blown away by how much you have achieved as a performer. Of the projects you’ve been part of, is there one that you look back at most fondly?

This is a tough one because they all have a special place in my heart, but I would probably say that I am the proudest of the “Harlem For Flint” event that I produced during the peak of the Flint Water Crisis back in March 2016. I had just moved to New York months prior to this event because I was a part of the Broadway production, Shuffle Along. I was working with Broadway legends Audra MacDonald, Savion Glover, Billy Porter, and George C. Wolfe—but I was still deeply connected and concerned about my family, friends, and the people of my hometown Flint, Michigan. I was able to bring together the jazz, theater, tap dance, and visual artist community through partnerships with the National Black Theater, Revive Music, Harlem Stage, and a few local restaurants. All of the performing artists donated their time and talents to this event and we raised $10,000 to go towards the Community Foundation of Greater Flint to help support families impacted by the water crisis.

I’m also really amazed at your work as an interdisciplinary artist and your dedication to education and interdisciplinary programs. Can you talk about how you first got into this work and developed your own curriculums? 

Ever since I was 13 years old, I have loved teaching. I first got into working with educational programming through my father’s organization Tapology, where I was the assistant artistic director for seven years and then the artistic director for four. While I was there, I designed educational and pre-professional training programs for young people between the ages of 6 and 22, and partnerships with the Flint Public Schools allowed us to teach hundreds of students about the history of jazz through tap dance and music. We also worked with the City of Flint, public housing, nursing homes, and adoption centers to ensure that we served those who are marginalized. This kind of experience has followed me everywhere I have lived. While living in Philadelphia and New York, I continued this work with organizations such as Young Audiences, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Ping Chong Theater Company, and the Apollo Theater Education Department. Now, I live in Baltimore, where I’ve developed my own curricula through my company, Destination 4Ever. I teach at Peabody Conservatory and work with community organizations such as Fayette Street Outreach, The Seed School, Eubie Blake Cultural Center, and WombWork Productions. Most important to me is to not only think about the next generation, but also to create pathways for them to live a sustainable life while also being excellent at their craft.

How and when did the Baltimore Jazz Collective get its start? 

The Baltimore Jazz Collective started in 2019 as an initiative spearheaded by my husband, Sean Jones. It is a more fluid model of the San Francisco Jazz Collective–which he used to be a part of. We had been in Baltimore for about a year, working on a project called “Dizzy Spellz,” and working at Peabody, and during this time we both realized how many great musicians live in or are from Baltimore. So, he wrote a proposal for Johns Hopkins, pitching the idea of a collective of musicians and composers to create original music and reimagine music by a Baltimore composer. We then were able to start with a residency at the Keystone Korner in partnership with Todd Barkan, workshopping our ideas and leading jam sessions once a week for a year. Then we took our ideas to the studio, and now we have two albums on the way.

As a 2024 New Jazz Work grantee, you received funding for commissions for the Baltimore Jazz Collective. Tell us about this process. 

It has been very intense because our grant-funded work, the Baby Laurence Legacy Project, is a full-on production featuring music, dance, storytelling, and breaking of the fourth wall in the form of an interdisciplinary play. The collective is a huge collaborator in the process, and for most of the artists it is a completely different process than they are used to since my approach to music comes through my body by way of tap dance and voice, in which they then help to reinforce and highlight how tap dancing can also be melodic and interactive. Through this process, I really try to help them understand that they are not background music. They are not accompanying me—instead, they play a role in the creation and democratic process of the music, which requires a deeper level of active listening. Most of my bandmates have not had many opportunities to work extensively with a tap dancer, so for me it is about telling the story and being very intentional with how we approach the information while also bringing forth new ideas. We spent a few days at Jacob’s Pillow during a lab residency, where we had 24-hour access to a studio to just create and unpack the various themes we are trying to tackle through this music. I am really excited about the work we are creating!

Do you have any advice for ensembles applying for a CMA grant?

Dream. Articulate your dream out loud but also be ready to pivot or adjust the vision as you go along.

And finally, if the Baltimore Jazz Collective were a sandwich, what would it be and why?

I think it’s safe to say we would be a crab cake sandwich! Not everyone in the band eats red meat, but we all agree on seafood. Maryland crabs are very distinct, and their crab cakes are prepared in a special way with the key ingredient of Old Bay seasoning. The Baltimore Jazz Collective is unique in the sense that there is no “bandleader” and each of us has something to offer as a group to produce our specific sound.

To stay up to date with everything that Brinae Ali and the Baltimore Jazz Collective head over to their websites www.destination4ever.com and www.baltimorejazzcollective.com, follow them on Instagram @brinaeali, @destination4everllc, and @baltimorejazzcollective. And check our the Baby Laurence Legay Project premiering in Baltimore at the Creative Alliance February 21 and 22, and then on the road to Florida! 

Interested in learning more about the New Jazz Works grant program, supported by the Doris Duke Foundation? Click here.