Women in jazz have contributed throughout the many eras of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

history, both as performers and as composers, songwriters and bandleaders. While women such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

were famous for their jazz singing, women have achieved much less recognition for their contributions as composers, bandleaders and instrumental performers. Other notable jazz women include piano player

Lil Hardin Armstrong Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in ...

and jazz songwriters

Irene Higginbotham Irene Higginbotham (June 11, 1918 – August 27, 1988) was an American songwriter and concert pianist. She is best known for co-writing the Billie Holiday song " Good Morning Heartache" (1946). Biography Higginbotham was born on June 11, 1918, in ...

and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

History

United States

With women’s suffrage at its peak with the ratification of the United States Nineteenth Amendment on 18 August 1920 and the development of the liberated

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

persona, women began to make a statement within society. In the " Jazz Age", women took a greater part in the workforce after the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, giving them more independence. In the Jazz Age and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as the Blue Belles, the Parisian Redheads (later the Bricktops), Lil-Hardin's All-Girl Band, the Ingenues, the

Harlem Playgirls Harlem Playgirls was an African American swing band active in the Midwest and throughout the United States from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. History Organized by Milwaukee-based drummer and band leader Sylvester Rice (1905–1984)''Late Eli ...

led by the likes of

Neliska Ann Briscoe Neliska Ann Briscoe (April 7, 1914 – August 25, 1994) was an American dancer, jazz band leader, and businesswoman. Background The daughter of Eddie Briscoe, a meatpacker, and Neliska Thomas, a cook and housekeeper from Mexico, Neliska Ann B ...

and Eddie Crump, the

International Sweethearts of Rhythm The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...

Phil Spitalny Phil Spitalny (November 7, 1890 – October 11, 1970) was a Russian Empire-born American musician, music critic, composer, and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He rose to fame after he led an all-female orchestra, a nov ...

's Musical Sweethearts, "Helen Lewis and Her All-Girl Jazz Syncopators" as well as "Helen Lewis and her Rhythm Queens were popular. There were many more possibilities for women in terms of social life and entertainment. Ideas such as equality and freer sexuality began to spread and women took on new roles. The 1920s saw the emergence of many famous women musicians including African-American blues singer

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock a ...

(1894–1937), who inspired singers from later eras, including

(1915–1959) and Janis Joplin (1943–1970). In the 1920s, women singing jazz music were not many, but women playing instruments in jazz music were even less common.

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, an ...

, known for her talent as a piano player, is deemed as one of the 'mothers of jazz' due to her singing while playing the piano at the same time.

Lovie Austin Cora "Lovie" Austin (September 19, 1887 – July 8, 1972) was an American Chicago bandleader, session musician, composer, singer, and arranger during the 1920s classic blues era. She and Lil Hardin Armstrong are often ranked as two of the best ...

(1887–1972) was a piano player and bandleader. Pianist

(1898–1971) was originally a member of King Oliver's band with Louis Armstrong and went on to play piano in Armstrong's band the

Hot Five Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink * Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places * Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distri ...

and then his next group, the

Hot Seven Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven was a jazz studio group organized to make a series of recordings for Okeh Records in Chicago, Illinois, in May 1927. Some of the personnel also recorded with Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, including Johnny Dod ...

. Borzillo, Carrie, "Women in Jazz: Music on Their Terms--As Gender Bias Fades, New Artists Emerge", ''Billboard'' 108:26 (29 June 1996), pp. 1, 94–96.

Valaida Snow Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tr ...

(1904–1956) became so famous as a trumpet player that she was known as "Little Louis". It was not until the 1930s and 1940s that many women jazz singers such as Billie Holiday were recognized as successful artists in the music world. Billie Holiday’s music rose to fame following the Great Depression. She, along with several male artists, added a new flavor to the sounds of jazz that become known as swing music. This music brought in heavier use of a band of instruments as well as many artists then began playing music in addition to already singing. These women were persistent in striving to make their names known in the music industry and lead the way for many more women artists to come. While jazz songwriting has long been a male-dominated field, there have been a few notable women jazz songwriters.

(1918–1988) wrote almost 50 songs, her best-known being "

Good Morning Heartache "Good Morning Heartache" is a song written by Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, and Dan Fisher. It was recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday on January 22, 1946. Bill Stegmeyer and his Orchestra (Decca Session No. 54) New York City, January 22, ...

Ann Ronell Ann Ronell (née Rosenblatt; December 25, 1905 — December 25, 1993) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for the standards " Willow Weep for Me" (1932) and " Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" (1933). Early life Ronell was b ...

(1905–1993) is known for her 1932 hit song "

Willow Weep for Me "Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. The song form is AABA, written in time,Zimmers, Tighe, E. (2009). ''Tin Pan Alley Girl: A Biography of Ann Ronell''. McFarland. pp. 19-22. altho ...

" and the 1933 Disney song "

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon ''Three Little Pigs'', where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voic ...

(1905–1974) wrote the lyrics for more than 400 songs, some of which were played by Duke Ellington. She co-wrote "

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film ''Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, ...

" with

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

, which won the 1936 Oscar for Best Song. She also co-wrote several jazz standards with

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

, such as " Exactly Like You". "

On the Sunny Side of the Street "On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical '' Lew Lesli ...

" and "

I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew L ...

's most famous song, "Struttin’ with Some Barbecue", has been recorded 500 times. Her other notable songs are “Doin’ the Suzie Q", "Just for a Thrill" and "Bad Boy". While

is best known as a singer, she co-wrote " God Bless the Child" and " Don't Explain" with Arthur Herzog, Jr. and she penned the blues song "

Fine and Mellow "Fine and Mellow" is a jazz standard written by Billie Holiday, who first recorded it on April 20, 1939 on the Commodore label. It is a blues lamenting the bad treatment of a woman at the hands of "my man". Notable performances and recordings ...

South Africa

Besides earlier singers like

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

or Dorothy Masuka, women in contemporary South African jazz are trombone player Siya Makuzeni, pianist and vocalist Thandi Ntuli, or pianists Lindi Ngonelo and Lindi Ngonelo.

Activism

Within the early industry of jazz, possessing masculinity was viewed as a preference that made women in jazz struggle for recognition. Many musicians began taking the discussion of inequality from the musical aspect and applying those same concepts in becoming an activist. Several women in jazz were activists either for gender equality or racial equality and often both. Once jazz music transitioned from the 1920s to the 1950s, many black female artists began singing more in the style of R&B blues as well as folk jazz.

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

was hailed as setting a prominent precedent for other artists as she modeled what was called the new style of jazz. Her style was also around the time of the popular

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

that peaked in the late 1950s and continued through the '60s. In 1964, Simone performed at Carnegie Hall in front of an all-white audience. One of the songs she chose to sing was "

Mississippi Goddam "Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". The song was released on her album '' Nina Simone in Concert'' in 1964, which wa ...

", which expounded on the racial injustice of blacks living in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Although those listening were an all-white audience, many responded with interest and concern rather than criticism which added another layer to the culture of jazz within the civil rights era. Jazz became a unifying concept among contrasting races and cultures and Simone’s popular anthems continued to be a product of the issues surrounding the Civil Rights Movement and the injustices that were displayed.

was another prominent female jazz singer who provided an effective notion to the Civil Rights Movement in her song " Strange Fruit". Through an emotional and metaphorical narration, Holiday's song depicts the vision and harsh reality of blacks being lynched as a result of racism. Holiday performed the song nearly every night she went on stage, thus shaping the song to become a popular melody. This melody slowly began to be associated heavily with civil rights protests and was often used by well-known activists such as

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

Role of women

Historically, women performers in jazz have been mostly singers, among them

(1917–1996),

(1915–1959)

(1894–1937),

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

(1920–1994),

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

(1924–1963), Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990), Betty Carter (1929–1998),

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...

(1919–2006),

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...

(1930–2010), Nancy Wilson (1937–2018),

Diane Schuur Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music ...

(born 1953),

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard'' maga ...

(born 1964), and

Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato (born February 11, 1976) is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke. ...

(born 1976). However, there are many notable instrumental performers. In some cases, these musicians are also composers and bandleaders: *

Beegie Adair Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. In a career that spanned 60 years, she played on more than 100 recordings. More than a third of her recordings were with the B ...

(piano, arranger and composer) *

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in '' Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...

(piano, composer, and bandleader) * Melissa Aldana (tenor saxophone, and bandleader) *

(piano, composer, arranger, and bandleader) *

Lynne Arriale Lynne Arriale is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. She is Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Small Ensembles at the University of North Florida. Awards and honors *"The Lights Are Always On" (2022) #3 on JazzWeek ...

(piano, composer, and bandleader) *

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

(harp, composer, and bandleader) *

(piano and bandleader) * Judy Bailey (piano, composer, bandleader) * Sweet Emma Barrett (piano) * Carla Bley (piano, composer, and bandleader) *

Jane Ira Bloom Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer. Early years Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxopho ...

(soprano saxophone, composer, and bandleader) *

Joanne Brackeen Joanne Brackeen (born Joanne Grogan; July 26, 1938) is an American jazz pianist and music educator. Music career Brackeen was born in Ventura, California, United States, and attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. She was a fan of pop pi ...

(piano, composer] *

Jane Bunnett Mary Jane Bunnett, (born October 22, 1956) is a Canadian musician and educator. A soprano saxophonist, flautist and bandleader, she is especially known for performing Afro-Cuban jazz. She travels regularly to Cuba to perform with Cuban musicians. ...

(saxophone, flute, piano, and bandleader) *

Judy Carmichael Judy Carmichael (born November 27, 1957) is a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and vocalist who has been honored as a Steinway Artist.

(piano, bandleader, and vocalist) *

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

(drums) *

Barbara Carroll Barbara Carroll (born Barbara Carole Coppersmith; January 25, 1925 – February 12, 2017) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life and career Carroll was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her classical training in piano at ...

(piano, bandleader) *

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

(

jazz violin Jazz violin is the use of the violin or electric violin to improvise solo lines. Early jazz violinists included: Eddie South, who played violin with Jimmy Wade's Dixielanders in Chicago; Stuff Smith; and Claude "Fiddler" Williams. Joe Venuti wa ...

) *

Anat Cohen Anat Cohen ( he, ענת כהן, born 1975) is a New York City-based jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader from Tel Aviv, Israel. Biography Cohen began playing clarinet and saxophone. In 1996, she studied at the Berklee College of Mus ...

(clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones, and bandleader) *

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...

(harp, composer, and bandleader) * Roxy Coss (saxophone, flute) *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...

(piano, vocalist, and bandleader) *

Dena DeRose Dena DeRose (born February 15, 1966) is an American jazz pianist, singer and educator. Although she began her career just as a pianist, medical problems with her hand forced her to become a vocalist as well. She has released seven solo albums. B ...

(piano, vocalist) *

Dorothy Donegan Dorothy Donegan (April 6, 1922 – May 19, 1998) was a classically trained American jazz pianist and occasional vocalist, primarily known for performing stride and boogie-woogie, as well as bebop, swing, and classical. Early life, family ...

(piano, vocalist) *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian

Mimi Fox (guitar, and bandleader) * Scheila Gonzalez (saxophones, woodwinds) * Mary Halvorson (guitar, and bandleader) *

Jutta Hipp Jutta Hipp (February 4, 1925 – April 7, 2003) was a jazz pianist and composer. Born in Leipzig during the Weimar Republic, Hipp initially listened to jazz in secret, as it was not approved of by the Nazi authorities. After World War II, she bec ...

(piano) *

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and ot ...

(piano) *

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer who plays jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. She has recorded twelve albums and founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. In 1971, she was the first ...

(flute) *

Margie Hyams Marjorie Hyams (August 9, 1920 – June 14, 2012) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, and arranger. She began her career as a vibraphonist in the 1940s, playing with Woody Herman (from 1944 to 1945), the Hip Chicks (1945), Mary Lou W ...

(piano, and vibraphone) *

Ingrid Jensen Ingrid Jensen (born January 12, 1966) is a Canadian jazz trumpeter. Music career Jensen was born in North Vancouver and grew up in Nanaimo. She received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, she ...

(trumpet) * Dolly Jones (trumpet) *

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...

(composer, arranger, and bandleader) *

Andrea Keller Andrea Keller (born 1973) is an Australian pianist and composer. She won three ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album with ''Thirteen Sketches'', ''Mikrokosmos'' and ''Footprints'' and was nominated in 2013 for the album ''Family Portraits''. Biograph ...

(piano, composer) *

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

(saxophone) *

Joelle Khoury Joelle Khoury is a Lebanese-American pianist and composer of jazz and contemporary classical music. Background Born in Beirut, Joelle Khoury left Lebanon for the United States after the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War. She obtained a degr ...

(piano and composer) *

Jeanette Kimball Jeanette Kimball (18 December 1906 – 28 March 2001), née Jeanette Salvant, was a classically trained American jazz pianist who played in jazz bands for more than 70 years, mostly in New Orleans. She received the Black Men of Labor Jazz Lega ...

(piano) *

Kristin Korb Kristin Korb is an American jazz double bassist and vocalist. Biography Korb studied at Eastern Montana College and the University of California, San Diego. She also studied with Ray Brown, with whom she made her recording debut, released in ...

(bass, vocalist, bandleader, and composer) *

(piano, vocalist, and bandleader) * Katia Labeque (piano) *

Melba Liston Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, ...

(trombone, arranger, composer, and bandleader) *

Marilyn Mazur Marilyn Mazur (born January 18, 1955) is an American-born Danish percussionist. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur is primarily an autodidact, but she has a degree in ...

(drums, percussion) *

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

(piano, composer, and bandleader) *

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

(piano, composer, and bandleader) *

Linda Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior Hi ...

(bass, composer, and bandleader) *

Mary Osborne Mary Osborne (July 17, 1921 – March 4, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist and guitar manufacturer. She began performing at a young age and was featured on a radio program in North Dakota, where she grew up. In New York City during the 1940s, ...

(guitar, and bandleader) * Nicki Parrott (bass, vocalist, and bandleader) * Ann Patterson (saxophones, woodwinds) * Billie Pierce (piano) *

Terry Pollard Terry Pollard (August 15, 1931 – December 16, 2009) was an American jazz pianist and vibraphonist active in the Detroit jazz scene of the 1940s and 1950s. She has been described as a "major player who was inexplicably overlooked." Pollard began ...

(piano, vibraphone, and bandleader) *

Vi Redd Elvira "Vi" Redd (born September 20, 1928) is an American jazz alto saxophone player, vocalist and educator. She has been active since the early 1950s and is known primarily for playing in the blues style. She is highly regarded as an accomplis ...

(alto saxophone, and bandleader) *

Emily Remler Emily Remler (September 18, 1957 – May 4, 1990) was an American jazz guitarist, active from the late 1970s until her death in 1990. Early life and influences Born in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,Staff"Emily Remler Dies On Australia Tour; Gui ...

(guitar, and bandleader) * Renee Rosnes (piano, composer, arranger, and bandleader) * Stacy Rowles (trumpet) *

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...

(piano, composer, arranger, and bandleader) * Gaea Schell (piano, flute, composer) *

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

(composer, arranger, and bandleader) *

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representat ...

(classical piano, singer, and actor) *

(piano, vocalist, and bandleader) *

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...

(bassist, vocalist, and composer) * Barbara Thompson (saxophonist, flutist and composer) *

Hiromi Uehara , known professionally as Hiromi, is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blend of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock, classical and fusion in her ...

(piano, composer, and bandleader) *

(piano, arranger, bandleader, composer) There have also been all-female jazz bands, such as

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that inclu ...

Factors contributing to lower participation and recognition

According to Jessica Duchen, a music writer for London’s ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', women musicians are "too often judged for their appearances, rather than their talent", and they face pressure "to look sexy onstage and in photos.""Classical music's shocking gender gap"
CBC Music, 19 March 2014. Duchen states that while " ere are women musicians who refuse to play on their looks,...the ones who do tend to be more materially successful." According to the UK's BBC Radio 3 editor, Edwina Wolstencroft, the music industry has long been open to having women in performance or entertainment roles, but women are much less likely to have positions of authority, such as being a bandleader.Jessica Duchen
"Why the male domination of classical music might be coming to an end"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 28 February 2015. In popular music, while there are many women singers recording songs, there are very few women behind the

audio console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...

acting as music producers, the individuals who direct and manage the recording process. "Only a few of the many women ongwritersin America had their music published and heard during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.""In Search of Women In American Song; A neglected musical heritage"
Parlor Songs. According to Richard A. Reublin and Richard G. Beil, the "lack of mention of women ongwritersis a glaring and embarrassing omission in our musical heritage." Women "struggled to write and publish music in the man's world of 20th-century

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

. Prior to 1900 and even after 1900, it was expected that "women would perform music, not make music." In 1880, Chicago music critic George P. Upton wrote ''Women In Music'', in which he argued that "women lacked the innate creativity to compose good music" due to "biological predisposition". Later, it was accepted that women would have a role in music education, and they became involved in this field "to such a degree that women dominated music education during the latter half of the 19th century and well into the 20th century." The "secular music in print in America before 1825 shows only about 70 works by women." In the mid-19th century, notable women songwriters emerged, including Faustina Hasse Hodges, Susan Parkhurst, Augusta Browne and Marion Dix Sullivan. By 1900, there were many more women songwriters, but "many were still forced to use pseudonyms or initials" to hide the fact that they were women. However, in recent times, women have employed jazz music also for creating movements and awareness about sexism and misogyny within the jazz industry. A group of women called “We Have a Voice Collective” aims to bring attention and appreciation for the women associated with jazz music past and present.

References

External links

Women In Jazz: A Bibliography
with numerous titles about individual women musicians or gender studies in jazz {{Women in society Jazz people Women in music History of jazz

History

United States

South Africa

Activism

Role of women

Factors contributing to lower participation and recognition

See also

References

Further reading

External links