The Evolution of Women in Jazz in Wales

This exciting performance features an all-female line up of jazz musicians from Wales, performing original compositions and jazz standards by female artists and composers. The show will explore the story of women in jazz in Wales past and present through film, narration and music.

Thursday February 9th 2023 Tickets available here

As a result of the 2020 COVID lockdown, James Chadwick, jazz guitarist and educator based in Cardiff, who had set up a Facebook page called Jazz in South Wales, started asking jazz musicians to send recording of themselves playing, which he then posted as daily performances for 18 months. This stimulated connections and reconnections between musicians in the community and led to a Zoom meeting to discuss the state of Jazz in South Wales before COVID and what it might look like afterwards. It was decided that with the support of the RWCMD, an application to ACW would be made to run a Connect and Flourish, Research and Development project for a year. The successful application resulted in Archwilwyr Jazz Explorers, a year-long project running in North, West and South Wales, each with a different focus- community, education and diversity, but all with the aim of developing links, partnerships and work opportunities for Wales based jazz musicians. The project began in July, with a partnership with Aberystwyth Music Festival who piloted a fringe jazz line up to their Classical programme. In September, an education project was launched in North Wales, working with three music services, Galeri in Caernarfon and a group of recent RWCMD graduates, exploring jazz concepts, improvisation and performance. The final element is the Women in Jazz project, delivered through a partnership between Black Mountain Jazz and the newly refurbished Borough Theatre in Abergavenny.

Black Mountain Jazz are a very active focal point for jazz performances in Abergavenny and the Borough Theatre is an important venue that has been closed for a considerable refurbishment investment. Bringing together these two organisations has been a positive experience for both parties and has led to the development of the Women in Jazz showcase, which will take place at the Borough Theatre on 9th Feb. This exciting performance features an all-female line up of jazz musicians from Wales, performing original compositions and some jazz standards by female artists and composers. The show will explore the story of women in jazz in Wales, past and present through film, narration and music. The performance features a range of musicians from those established on the jazz scene, to those just starting out and include Head of Jazz at RWCMD, Paula Gardiner, Bass and guitar; Liz Exell, Drums; Llanelli based Deborah Glenister, Piano/Sax; North Wales based Maria Lamburn, Bass clarinet/Viola; Xenia Porteous, Violin; Jane Williams, voice/ukulele; Siobhan Waters, voice. The musicians were selected from an open call-out and were chosen for their skills and experience as performers and composers. The resulting group of musicians has produced a non-standard line-up affording some unusual instrumental and vocal combinations. Through discussion, it has emerged that new music, written and improvised by the musicians, will be the main element of the performance in February. The performance will be underpinned by a film exploring the musicians’ personal jazz journeys and supported by an exhibition looking at the history of Women in Jazz in Wales, written by Nigel Jarrett and including display elements from Jazz Heritage Wales.

Our new Women in Jazz Media Playlist is now out: Volume 21

We publish a new playlist each month and try to share a wide range of women from across the world - new releases, legacy artists, new and established artists and also some women we think you should know about but maybe don't!  We keep it to 15 artists per playlist to give you time to discover, listen and share these incredible women. You cna listen to this month playlist on Spotify or You Tube

Do please get in touch if you have music you would like us to include - either your own or recommendations. We are especially keen to share music from female instrumentalists and composers.

As always we would encourage you to buy directly from the artist where possible, and all the links are on our site here:

Laura Karst  Evie Asio Abbie Finn Jemma Freese Colectiva Blanche Calloway 

Helga Plankensteiner Juanita Euka Nora Germain Zoe’s Shangai

Elena Mindru Melissa Pinto Letta Mbulu Julie Campiche Quartet Muva of Earth

Welcome to the second episode of our new drummer focused series ‘Sticks and Thrones’ with host Migdalia Van Der Hoven, with our guest Abbie Finn. Our podcasts are available on all platforms and are currently at number 9 in the top 60 best Jazz podcast on FeedSpot featuring original music from Migdalia Van Der Hoven available here

Listen to episode 2 here

Migdalia van der Hoven is an International Award winning Mexican drummer currently touring with SIX the Musical across the UK. She is also a Vater Drumsticks, Bosphorus Cymbals and RTOM Corporation artist and a Berklee College of Music graduate (where she studied and performed with Jackie Santos, Terri Lynn Carrington, Victor Mendoza and Mark Walker). She is known for her groove, sensitivity and versatility across multiple genres such as funk, jazz, fusion, latin jazz, pop and world music. She became the first Mexican Female drummer to ever perform at Ronnie Scott’s and the EFG London Jazz Festival. Migdalia has become “Woman of the year 2022” in Mexico in arts and culture for her contribution in music nationally and internationally.

Abbie Finn is a musician from the North-East of England, currently based in Brandon, County Durham, who has over 16 years performance experience*.* Abbie studied Jazz drums under Sebastiaan De Krom at Leeds College of Music, gaining a 1st Class Degree with honours. She then received a Master’s degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, studying with Gene Calderazzo and Asaf Sirkis. In 2018 she was given the opportunity to play Percussion with the WOW (Women of the World) Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of a festival of women.

Abbie was a dep for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and also played with the NYJO Academy big band, The Trinity Composer's Big Band, Kinesis: A Drum and Sax duo with Harry Keeble, The NYJO Quintet, The Jazztones, Paul Edis Trio, Durham Alumni Big Band, Strictly Smokin' Big band and more. She has had the pleasure of working with artists such as: NYJO (National Youth Jazz Orchestra), Simon Spillett, Paul Edis, Andrea Vicari, Derek Nash, Oli Hayhurst, Dean Stockdale, Sue Ferris, Graham Hardy, Paul Grainger, Andy Champion, Zoe Gilby, Mark Williams, Harry Keeble, Michael Lamb, Alice Grace, Ruth Lambert, Bradley Johnson, The Strictly Smokin’ Big Band, NYJO Ambassadors, NYJO academy big band, Musicians unlimited big band, Durham Alumni big band, Customs House big band, Ray Beckett and more.

Abbie’s current main projects are the Abbie Finn Trio with Harry Keeble on tenor saxophone and Paul Grainger on double bass and the Finntet - a hardbop band featuring Graham Hardy, Harry Keeble, Dean Stockdale and Paul Grainger. She also frequently performs with the Harry Keeble Quartet, the Dean Stockdale Trio and many more.

Inspired by Willard Jenkins book ‘Ain’t But A Few of Us’, Women in Jazz Media are launching a new mentoring scheme specifically aimed at increasing the number of black jazz journalists across the world.

Women in Jazz Media is an award winning not for profit organization and although a large amount of their initiatives are focused on platforming women, with the ultimate aim of seeing an equal, diverse and safe jazz industry, this mentoring scheme is open to all genders and applicants can choose to have a male or female mentor.

Supported by Black Lives in Music, who work to dismantle structural racism in the industry and work to take action to create a level playing field for everyone to have an equal chance to succeed, along with award winning legend Maxine Gordon, the mentoring scheme has significant support, not least of which is the through the inspirational mentors who are involved.

Willard Jenkins himself is a mentor along with Jordannah Elizabeth and John Murph with more mentors to be announced soon. Women in Jazz Media Founder says ’I cannot believe we have such truly inspirational writers involved in this initiative! It is overwhelming. The wealth of knowledge, experience, and guidance that Willard, Jordannah and John can pass onto potential new writers is truly invaluable. If we hope to see more great black writers, then we must be guided by great black writers’

The book that has inspired this scheme, ‘Ain’t But A Few of Us’, is a dialogue, a collection of monologues, and an anthology of writing on jazz, journalism, race, and gender all in one.

“The goal has been to include Black writers from several different perspectives and stations in the media pursuit,” Jenkins explains in his introduction. “This book represents a variety of viewpoints and vantage points, but inevitably the dialogue leads back to considerations of that specious, man-made construct known as race.”

The book explores the voices of a wide range of writers - male and female, of different generations, locations, and professional backgrounds and they answer Jenkins’s provocative questions about the experience of being a Black music writer, the relative lack thereof, and what that lack means for the music and its audience

More Than A Few of Us is now open for applicants! To apply, please follow this link

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please get in touch with Fiona Ross here

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ featuring music from Hannah Horton! You can find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes our special guest, Faye Patton. You can listen here

 Faye is a singer-songwriter, pianist and classically trained guitarist - she writes original songs in jazz idiom which combine jazz, funk, pop, folk, gospel and blues influences with a classic sound that recalls the great Jazz divas of the past. Her vocals, (with a register that stretches to heights, depths and lengths that make audiences gasp) have been compared to Judy Garland and Joni Mitchell. Her prodigious piano playing has been compared to Ray Charles and Horace Silver. A powerful lyricist and prodigious producer of 5 independent releases, her songs contain an inspirational LGBT flavour rarely seen on the jazz scene. She is currently the resident in house musician at art deco cocktail jazz venue Bermondsey Arts Club.

Faye has gigged regularly in and around the London over the last 20 years. Venues include: Soho Theatre Piano Bar, Ray's Jazz, Upstairs at Ronnie Scott's, Stratford Theatre Royal, Upstairs at The Ritzy Cinema, The Vortex, The Green Note, The Pheasantry, Karamel Klub, Toulouse Lautrec, Caffe Concerto, E15 Jazz Sessions, Soderberg Soho, Bermondsey Arts Club. Festivals include: Isle of Wight International Jazz Divas, Derry Jazz Festival, Jazznacht Donaueshingen in Germany, Hackney Spice Festival. Faye has been featured as a guest blogger in London Jazz News and has had radio play on BBC Radio Foyle, Radio Jazz Caribe, (Venezuela) Resonance, Real Music FM, and London Jazz Radio and is featured in international jazz blogs and podcasts.

https://fayepatton.com/home/

Hannah is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world.

“Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw

https://hannahhorton.com/