Welcome to our podcast series ‘On The Bookcase’, featuring female authors from across the world, with host Fiona Ross and original music from Hannah Horton.  We were excited to find our podcasts named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot! Huge thank you to them! You can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot! 

In this episode we welcome Dr Alexis McGee, to talk about her new book, From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics

You can listen to the episode on Spotify Apple and all major podcast platforms

Dr. Alexis McGee received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at San Antonio where she also received two certificates of concentration in Linguistics and Rhetoric and Composition. Drawing from this background, McGee is an interdisciplinary scholar who engages with various fields and sub-disciplines such as Rhetoric, Composition/Writing Studies, Black Studies, Critical Pedagogies, Sound Studies, as well as Women and Gender Studies. Her concentrated research interests, more specifically, focus on Black women’s rhetorical uses of voice, literacies, and expression.

McGee’s book, From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics, (SUNY 2024), amplifies Black women’s ongoing public assertions of resistance, agency, and hope across different media from the nineteenth century to today. By examining recordings, music videos, autobiographical writings, and speeches, Alexis McGee explores how figures such as Ida B. Wells, Billie Holiday, Ruth Brown, Queen Latifah, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Janelle Monáe, and more mobilize sound to challenge antiBlack discourses and extend social justice pedagogies. Building on contemporary Black feminist interventions in sound studies and sonic rhetorics, From Blues to Beyoncé reveals how Black women’s sonic acts transmit meaning and knowledge within, between, and across generations. Her work has been featured on BBC Radio4 and published in various venues including College, Composition, and Communication (forthcoming, 2022); Rhetoric Review (2021); Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies (2018); Obsidian (2017); and Pedagogy (2016).

From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics: Available to purchase here

Welcome to the latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Kai Hoffman

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

You can listen on Spotify here

You can listen on Apple Podcasts here

Originally from Boston, MA, USA, Kai Hoffman is a blues, jazz & cabaret singer, songwriter, bandleader and recording artist based in the United Kingdom. Kai’s international reputation is growing steadily with shows including Don’t Tell Mama and the Metropolitan Room in New York City, The Blue Note in Milan and the European Jazz Expo, with further performances in countries as varied as Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Russia.

Kai is also the founder of the Herne Bay Jazz Festival:

Founded by artistic director Kai Hoffman, Herne Bay Jazz Festival CIC became a registered non-profit community interest company in February, 2024. As a CIC, we are currently expanding our year-round programs which will include workshops and performances over the course of the year as well as our August events. With a strong emphasis on exploring this genre of music without the barriers of cost or travel, our program includes new and established performers across a wide range of jazz styles, with free workshops for children and adults to explore their own creativity, offering our audiences the broadest selection possible, with an emphasis on inclusivity.

Kai’s links here

Hannah Horton 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. Hannah Horton website

Our new Women in Jazz Media Playlist is now out: Volume 37! 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 can listen here on Spotify or Youtube.

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

   Sylvia Brooks    Meshell Ndegeocello    Endea Owens    

        Alexa Torres   Charlotte Glasson     Alyssa Allgood

  Tara Lily    Miki Yamanaka    Patricia Brennan

Nala Sinephro    Charlie Pyne Quartet   Abbey Lincoln

Liss Wessberg      Arooj Aftab     Carmen Souza

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.

Welcome to our latest team news! We like to share some of the work the team have been doing both inside and outside of their Women in Jazz Media work and we have all been very busy as always.

A lot has been happening since our last news update in May, so get ready…we launched our July magazine which you can find hereSome highlights include:

Isabel Marquez spoke to Vidya, told is about her New York trip and shared our Jazz Sisters event for Anita Wardell. Charlotte Keeffe spoke to our cover woman The Trumpet LadyPaulette Jackson shared her thoughts on Sylvia MoyFiona Ross spoke to the UK Black Female Photography Collective, trombonist (and team member) Laura Impallomeni bassist and composer Endea Owens and shared her inspiring conversation with Tulani Bridgewater-KowalskiA incredible range of photos from Tatiana Gorilovsky Monika s Jakubowska Vuyo Giba and Enid Farber

We also paid tribute our team member Sandra Booker who very sadly passed away recently.

We relaunched our ‘Kicking Down The Door’ podcast series with new host Mary Sho and were thrilled to have the mighty China moses as our first guest! You can listen here

Migdalia Van Der Hoven launched the latest episode of our Sticks and Thrones podcast platforming female drummers across the globe. You can find out more here

Kim Cypher interviewed the owner of Ronnie Scott’s Sally Greene OBE in our latest magazine, and has as usual Kim has been very busy. She has released a brand-new original track and video - **'Uniquely the Same' **featuring Ashley Slater and Antonio Forcione, one of twelve tracks from her forthcoming album 'Catching Moments', due for release on all music platforms on 22nd November:

Following her recent sell-out Album Preview show at Ronnie Scott's, Kim is launching the album at Dunkerton's in her hometown of Cheltenham on Thursday 3rd October. The Album Launch event features Kim's 7-piece ALL-STAR band plus special guest Ray Gelato on vocals and tenor saxophone and The Flaming Feathers dancers. The evening will be compered by Jazz FM's David Freeman. You can click here to book tickets this spectacular event

Germana Stella La Sorsa interviewed jazz vocalist Lisa Rich in our recent magazine, which you can read here and you can see Germana along with harpist Tara Minton in London on October 2nd, as part of the Spice Jazz Soho events. Tickets available here

‘Italian London-based singer Germana Stella La Sorsa migrated from Puglia, Italy, in 2017 and quickly established herself on the London jazz scene. “Nudging boundaries as she goes” (The Slow MusicMovement) and exploring “the crossroads of many musical components, including story, composition, genre and style as well as instrumentation and effect” (London Jazz News), La Sorsa released her debut album‘Vapour’ in 2021 on 33 Jazz Records.

Following the success of her first record, the singer melds her disparate influences in her second studio album, ‘Primary Colours’. Praised as “a sure-fire statement of her confident stature amongst London’s top jazz cats” (Presto Music), La Sorsa’s new work continues to ride the contemporary/avant-garde jazz wave, further exploring the boundaries of improvisation and sound experimentation and drawing upon modern sounds and grooves, from drum’ n bass to Latin music.’

Ashaine White is on fire creating a unique and much needed space for new music. She was recently interview by NME which you can read here

Last but by no means least, Lara Eidi shares:

‘I'm delighted and excited to share a project very dear to me, and frankly something I've been doing ever since I became a professional musician: education . Over the years I've been fortunate enough to tour and perform extensively, as well as train both off stage and on stage. My approach to music has always been under the firm belief that when you are performing, you are learning and when you are teaching, you're always learning. 

As an educator. My approach to music has always embodied this idea of creating a space for musicians and non musicians to actually commit to the artistic process. After all, this is at the very heart of what being an artist and musician is, and for that matter, what being creative is. Therefore, it gives me great joy to officially launch my Songwriting Mentorship Program titled 'The Notes Between '. 

For further information and contact details, please click here

Our new Women in Jazz Media Playlist is now out: Volume 36!

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 can listen here on Spotify or Youtube.

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

Zara McFarlane      Carmela Rappazzo     Mireia Carbonell

Kim Cypher     Marysia Osu     Tasha Smith Godinez

Rowan Flack     Satoko Fujii    Angelique Kidjo

Ippi Roy        Christine Xu          Lakecia Benjamin

Marianne Solivan       Jihee Heo       Gloria Bosman

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.

Welcome to the third episode of our drummer focused series ‘Sticks and Thrones’ with host Migdalia Van Der Hoven, with our guest Jenny Pearson-Walinetski

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 3 here on Spotify

Listen to episode 3 here on Apple

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.

Follow Migdalia here

Jenny Pearson-Walinetski is a Drummer and Percussionist based in Manchester UK and is a graduate of the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music. She currently tours with Miles Kane as well as artists including Bryony Jarman Pinto (Jazz), Molly Wharbuton (Pop) and IORA( Electro Pop and Sync) and has enjoyed over the years playing at festivals such as Glastonbury, Kendal Calling and Tramlines.

Jenny is a current deputy on Six The Musical UK tour and has performed on other musicals such as Hamilton, Fantastically Great Women and Unfortunate Musical.

She is involved with her Jazz/DnB duo, j2oh (@j2ohmusic) which has performed at London Jazz Festival, Glasshouse ICM, Royal Albert Hall and in a feature recording with the Halle Orchestra. J2oh look forward to their upcoming album release late 2024.

Aside from gigs, Jenny records from her home studio with her work featured on Spotify Top 100, Netflix film releases UK and USA plus UK and European radio play. She has also featured as a drummer in advertisements for Facebook Meta and one of the Thousands of drummers in a shoot for Ladbrookes!

Find Jenny on Instagram here