Another happy bit of news: I've been invited to give a talk at the Kinser Jazz Festival in Casper WY in early February. The title of the talk is BROADS ON THE BANDSTAND: The Forgotten Women Who Fought for the Right to Play in the Swing Era.
This talk arises from a fascinating part of jazz history, one that features all-women big bands, who were most active from the early swing years thru the end of WWII. Many of these bands were also led by women, including Denver's own Joy Cayler , who later led a group called Brass Beat that many of our local sideman and women performed with.
I have had such fun researching this topic. The stories, the photos and videos have revealed some amazing players I knew little to nothing about, and aren't mentioned much (if at all) in much of jazz scholarly or mainstream writing & publishing. These women' stories of persistence and faith and success despite great odds need to be heard & shared. Everyone who's been to my shows knows how I love history and love sharing what's behind the music I sing, and discovering this topic has been a revelation. There's an entire segment of jazz history that's been underreported and under-taught. And IMHO, jazz history is incomplete without a working knowledge of everything these women "added to the conversation." I hope I make my own small contribution to that conversation, both with my music AND my writing & speaking. Stay tuned for more!
This talk arises from a fascinating part of jazz history, one that features all-women big bands, who were most active from the early swing years thru the end of WWII. Many of these bands were also led by women, including Denver's own Joy Cayler , who later led a group called Brass Beat that many of our local sideman and women performed with.
I have had such fun researching this topic. The stories, the photos and videos have revealed some amazing players I knew little to nothing about, and aren't mentioned much (if at all) in much of jazz scholarly or mainstream writing & publishing. These women' stories of persistence and faith and success despite great odds need to be heard & shared. Everyone who's been to my shows knows how I love history and love sharing what's behind the music I sing, and discovering this topic has been a revelation. There's an entire segment of jazz history that's been underreported and under-taught. And IMHO, jazz history is incomplete without a working knowledge of everything these women "added to the conversation." I hope I make my own small contribution to that conversation, both with my music AND my writing & speaking. Stay tuned for more!