The female mark in the history of ‘jazz’

The talk ‘Women in jazz’ was held on the occasion of the eighteenth edition of the Panama Jazz Festival. The presentation was directed by Sahara González, professor of the Creative Musical Children’s program of the Danilo Pérez Foundation.

During the meeting, the factors that hindered the development of women in jazz as professional musicians were addressed.

In the midst of social segregations, a circle dominated by men and the non-traditional choice to exercise discrimination, the exclusion of the right to vote, the lack of equality in education, the lack of equal pay, scarce opportunities and clothing, were some of the barriers that women historically had to face.

According to data collected from the United Nations (UN), the gender division in music is 70% men and 30% women.

According to González, women have been a fundamental part in the transmission of communication and in the permanence of stories through stories and songs. “The first records that are had on the participation of men and women are the manifestations of the music of the slaves around 1770, beginning with the work songs. They also performed others in which they honored their religious beliefs, these were spiritual songs, ”he argues.

An example is ‘Roll, Jordan, Roll’, performed by African American slaves. On many occasions, these songs were used to send hidden messages and did not carry instrumentation. The movie 12 Years a Slave shows this song in one of its scenes.

Vocalists

“With the passage of time the blues had its influence with field cries, cotton field holler, similar cadences, phrasing, among others. This musical genre refers to melancholy and was created to express opinions or individual feelings ”, explained the teacher, who added that after the slavery mixed vocal groups appeared and also traveling shows in which women began to have a presence in the scenarios with a greater role, but only as a singer.

Among them is Gertrude Ma Rainey, known as ‘the mother of blues’, and despite all the oppressions that existed in the 20th century, in the United States, she positioned herself in this musical genre.

Ma Rainey managed to make a difference with a unique style due to her combining vaudeville, blues and southern black folk. This quality went beyond the stage, so much so that it marked his way of dressing and used gold teeth.

By the 1910s, Ma Rainey was going on tour with the circuses, where she performed alongside comedians and jugglers, it was there that she forged her musical line. Its popularity was strengthened by the emergence of this genre and record companies in the 1920s.

That is why from 1923 to 1928 he recorded more than 90 songs. The most famous were ‘Bo Weavil Blues’ and ‘Moonshine Blues’.

Her facet not only remained as a performer, but also stood out as a composer; wrote more than 38 songs. Ma Rainey was resignified in the 1960s with the liberation movements.

Other singers who managed to stand out was Bessie Smith, known as the “Empress of jazz.” At just nine years old, Ma Rainey discovered Smith and took his tutelage. Several years later he took her on a tour of various countries.

At the age of 24 he recorded his first single called ‘Dowhearted Blues’ and in six months he managed to sell 780 million copies; said theme was composed by Alberta Hunter.

Smith, in the 1920s became the highest paid of the classic blues. Her success on stage prompted her to record with the most important artists of her time, such as Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Joe Smith, among others.

Bands

At the end of the 20s a phenomenon cited as ‘The Old Woman Band’ begins; This movement gained strength in the 1930s and 1940s. During this period, groups such as ‘The Ingenues’ appeared, a band from Chicago, made up of women who performed concerts in the United States and other nations for a period of 12 years, from 1925 to 1937, directed by William Morris.

This collective performed frequently for variety theaters and painting houses. They specialized in jazz, light classical works and were acclaimed for their versatility, as most used a variety of instruments.

His melodies crossed borders reaching Europe, South Africa, Australia and Brazil. They also appeared in short films in 1928 and 1937.

Another group that joins the list is ‘Ina Rae Hutton’s Melodears’. A story that began thanks to Odessa Cowan, known as ‘Ina Ray Hutton’, born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Marvel Ray, was a local pianist and artist. At the age of eight he was dancing and singing on stage in magazines. He studied at the Hyde Park Career Academy in the South Side (Chicago).

In the 1930s she performed on the Broadway circuit, and in 1934 she was asked to be the singer of a female orchestra, ‘Melodears’, in which various interpreters worked, including the trumpeter Frances Klein.

This was one of the most prominent female bands of the time and the first to be recorded. They shot several short films for Paramount. Ina Ray Hutton was the singer and leader of the group. In 1939 the collective disintegrated and Ray continued his career as a vocalist with another band.

Added to the list is ‘The International Sweethearts of Rhythm’, a band made up of women in the United States. During the 1940s, the group featured some of the best music of the day.

The members of the band met at a school for poor people and African Americans in Mississippi in 1938; the vision was to develop an all-female band inspired by ‘Ina Rae Hutton’s Melodears’.

The group consisted of Latinas, Caucasians, Chinese, and Indians; in this way they enforced the word international that appeared in the name of the group.

The women’s group played swing and jazz on a national circuit in theaters that included New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC After a performance in Chicago in 1943, the Chicago Defender reported that the band was “the most prominent women’s ensemble. and probably the best of the big band era ”.

Professor González contributed that despite being a famous group in the United States, when they traveled south, they all slept and ate on the same bus in which they traveled due to the racial segregation laws in that area that prevented them from staying together when entering to restaurants.

“During World War II there was a wave of letters that arrived from the soldiers requesting them, and it was then, when they undertook a trip through France, Germany, in 1945, thus being the first band of black women to travel with the United Service. Organization (USO), a non-profit organization that provides recreational and moral services to members of the United States Armed Forces around the world, ”he said.

The fact is that factors such as marriage, age, academic preparation and not receiving enough pay were some of the reasons that led to the disintegration of the band that disbanded in 1949.

During the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s in America, ‘International Sweethearts of Rhythm’ became popular with feminist writers and musicologists who set out to change the discourse on jazz history to include both men and women.

Instrumentalists

Lillian Hardin was an American jazz pianist, as well as a songwriter, arranger, and swing singer.

Hardin belonged to the ‘New Orleans Creole Jazz Band’, and ‘King Oliver’s Jazz Band’. In the 1930s, he led two women’s groups, one of them was ‘The Harlem Harlicans’ which is considered the first all-female swing band.

In the history of outstanding instrumentalists is Mary Lou William, who was a pianist, composer, vocalist and educator born in Atlanta in 1910.

Throughout his career he recorded and wrote more than 100 compositions, some for artists such as: Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.

William was a mentor and teacher for Thelonious Monk. Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, among others. Since 1996, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC has held the ‘Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival’ annually.

Also on the list is Melba Liston, who was the first trombonist to play with a big band in the 1940s. She joined the ‘Lincoln Theater’ band, for which she began composing and arranging. Thanks to her talent, she had a fruitful career as a trombonist, composer and arranger. He was part of the ‘Dizzy Gillespie’ band, and accompanied Billie Holiday. In 1958 he released his only solo album called ‘Melba Liston and Her’s Bones’.

The careers of these women who played in jazz in the 20s, 30s and 40s have been a fundamental pillar for the new generations to continue carrying a message of struggle and female empowerment.

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