Women in Jazz: On and Off the Stage

The multifaceted field of jazz provides a wide range of opportunities for creative expression. Often overlooked, the contributions of women have and continue to have a dynamic impact on jazz. As jazz performers, educators, artists, producers, and directors, women have struggled for equal recognition.

They get their due in a lecture-concert presentation featuring Charlie Young, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks artistic director and professor of jazz studies at Howard University. Young highlights the contributions of some of the leading women in jazz as the SJMO performs music they’ve made famous: pianist, composer, and writer Marian McPartland (“Ambiance”); pianist, composer, and band leader Toshiko Akiyoshi (“March of the Tadpoles)”; and saxophonist, arranger, and educator (and SJMO member) Leigh Pilzer (“East Coast Andy”).