The five finalists in this year’s Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition have been announced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). They are: Alyssa Allgood, Chicago;. Vahn Black, Detroit; Nathan Ferrell, New York City; Angeliqué Nicolas, Paris; and Jackie Ribas, New York City.
On Sunday, November 22, at the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, the finalists will compete at NJPAC in front of a live audience, and a jury of judges will name a winner. This year’s judges include: vocalists Jose James and Gretchen Parlato; Jason Olaine, Jazz at Lincoln Center Vice President of Programming; actress/vocalist Lillias White; and percussionist T.S. Monk. Host of the competition will be WBGO Radio’s Gary Walker. The event will also feature a performance by 2024 winner April May Webb.
Other past winners include Samara Joy, Cyrille Aimeé, and Jazzmeia Horn. Last year’s winner was Kate Kortum. (See the Rising Star interview with her in the January 2026 Jersey Jazz Magazine).
Allgood is a three-time DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll Rising Star. In 2014, Black was the runner up in the Detroit Jazz Festival’s Youth Vocal competition. She is a graduate of Spelman College and the Detroit School of the Arts. Farrell is an alumnus of Jazz House Kids and has competed in JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition and the Charles Mingus Festivals. Nicolas is a graduate of the Toulon Conservatory in Vocal Jazz and Contemporary Music. She is currently developing ARETHA, a jazz tribute to Aretha Franklin. Before moving to New York, Ribas spent seven years as a vocalist on Altas Horas, a popular Brazilian television program.
The first-prize winner will receive a $5,000 cash award; second place will receive $1,500; and third place, $500. The finals competition will be held at 3 p.m. at NJPAC. For more information or to order tickets, log onto SarahVaughanCompetition.com or call (888) 466-5722.