Namibia: The Young Lionesses

opinion

The face of jazz is changing, largely because the gender makeup of jazz is changing. The stereotype of jazz women strictly being torch singers has always ignored their instrumental contributions to the art form, from Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland to Shirley Scott, Emily Remler and Jane Ira Bloom. But today, that stereotype is being torn asunder evermore with perhaps the largest crop ever of serious women jazz players. And these ladies, hailing from all corners of the world, bring both a faithfully deep respect to the tradition and the daring to make a new tradition. What's more, their abilities as both performers and composers are at such a level to demand a recasting of the word "acu-men." This isn't a man's world anymore, J.B.

Some of these performers of the fairer sex have already achieved notice. You've likely already heard of Esperanza Spalding, Grace Kelly and Tal Wilkenfeld. Nonetheless, there are plenty more behind those poised to bubble up into the jazz public's consciousness because they are simply too good to be kept under wraps much longer. Below is a list of ten of the under-forty (with most under thirty) cadre of women jazz instrumental players, each of whom is ready to make that next step toward wider acclaim.

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