An illustrious group of women have lived and worked in the jazz world from its beginnings, but learning about them has largely been a matter of searching through footnotes or the memories of other musicians. This book, at once panoramic survey, rich anecdotal history, and musical and cultural analysis, presents for the first time the full spectrum of a century of women's experiences in and contributions to the musical tradition and culture of jazz. It presents a vividly detailed history and portrait of jazz women: women playing jazz, recording it, leading bands, writing, arranging, producing records, managing groups, and concertizing.
From singers that are the "blues royalty" (including Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday); to the big-band "canaries" (including Helen Forrest and Peggy Lee); to hundreds of early instrumentalists (including pianists like Mammy Lou, the greatest attraction of a famous New Orleans brothel, and famed trumpeter Valaida Snow); to band performers (such as the swing era Melodears and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm); and hundreds others, including less well-known but talented and active performers. The jazzwomen, the music, and their lives: they're all here, placed in rough chronology divided into stylistic periods spanning ten to fifteen years each. Based on extensive research and interviews, and laced with insightful analyses of such subtle issues as the sexual imagery of certain instruments or the more mundane problem of cleaning an elaborate gown on the road, this book depicts in rich and divers detail the lives and art of these jazzwomen.
Along the way it vividly recreates the overall music and culture of jazz itself. Combining his exhaustive research with a respect for and wonder at their accomplishments, an insight into the values, aesthetics, and pressures that shaped their careers, and an understanding and feel for the whole of jazz, this is the definitive work on women in jazz. -- Publisher description.
