Journal of Jazz Studies (JJS)
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“If Girls Don’t Want to Study Jazz, We Can’t Force Them”: an Ethnography of Gender Balance in a Jazz School
No full textScholarship acknowledges jazz as a historically male-dominated culture, where masculinity is closely intertwined with notions of tradition and authenticity. Androcentric perceptions of cultural and historical value, as well as gender stereotypes about male and female musical roles, continue to influence the participation of men and women in jazz nowadays. These ideas have long influenced the teaching of jazz, shaping its educational contexts, symbolic discourses, protagonists, and role models. The ongoing underrepresentation of female jazz students, particularly instrumentalists, is often attributed to a perceived lack of interest among female music students in pursuing jazz as an academic option.
Stereotypes of masculinity and femininity often lead to reduced motivation in activities considered outside traditional gender norms, guiding students’ assumptions about their own achievement, skills and personality attributes. For instance, female students may struggle with confidence in male-dominated fields, hindering their willingness to take risks and fully engage in learning. According to Erin L. Wehr's (2016) model outlining the reasons for female jazz avoidance, the combination of being a minority in the field, along with the fear of confirming a negative stereotype, contributes to lower confidence of female jazz students, which may explain a negative impact on girls’ motivation to participate in jazz.
Despite optimistic notions, which suggests that increased jazz education will naturally attract more female students and gradually expand the number of women playing jazz professionally, the reality often reflects a different scenario, with fewer female students opting for jazz studies and choosing to study classical music instead. This article delves into how these academic preferences are influenced by more than just individual choices, but also by structural power imbalances that significantly impact students' motivation.
Drawing from fieldwork conducted between 2021 and 2022 at the Portuguese jazz program of the Conservatório de Música de Coimbra, this study shed light on the perceptions of both students and teachers regarding the gender disparity within their program. While the classical music program maintained a balanced gender distribution, the jazz course revealed a stark contrast, with a disproportionately low number of female students, particularly instrumentalists. Through diverse perspectives offered by students and teachers, this study aims to contribute to a reflection on how jazz educational institutions and communities can address the issue of underrepresentation of female jazz students. It explores the complex interplay between individual agency and structural power dynamics, particularly concerning gender conformity in jazz education. This examination is particularly relevant in peripheral countries like Portugal, where the public implementation of jazz education has a relatively recent history. Therefore, when considering underrepresented individuals, it is imperative to not only consider individual preferences but also to confront broader structural dynamics that shape students' academic experiences. This involves creating an academic environment that fosters equal opportunities, provides necessary support systems, and challenges systemic barriers. By doing so, we can promote meaningful educational experiences for all students, regardless of their background, and promote a more diverse and equitable jazz education community
"Whisper, Say We’re Free”: Visualizing the “Freedom Now Suite” and Abbey Lincoln’s Voice of Protest
No full textFollowing the critical success of the 1960 record “We Insist”: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, a project which foregrounds Black American and African politics and protest, Roach took this project on tour performing across the United States and Europe. In early 1964, this suite was featured on Belgium's Jazzprisma––a BRT (Belgische Radio en Televisie) network series. Like the album, what stands out is Abbey Lincoln's profound performance and sonic embodiment of Black trauma through the scream in "Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace," however, now it is visible. This paper highlights Lincoln's performance in particular and centers video recording of the 1964 performance as an opportunity to observe, audio-visually, Lincoln’s complete protest aesthetics. My analysis focuses on three main elements: (1) the ways in which extreme close-up camera angles create an abbreviated view of Lincoln's performance, (2) the significance of the international stage and how Lincoln and the other artists are performing the suite’s protest messages to a transnational audience, and (3) how Lincoln confronts and appropriates politics of gender here and how that has carried over through her early career. Thinking with scholars such as Jayna Brown, Daphne Brooks, Eric Porter, and Ingrid Monson who confront issues of intersectionality, timbre, and the voice, I view Lincoln’s scream and improvisation as a sonic signifier of historical violence against Black folks. While these authors focus on the piece in its recorded form, I expand upon their work and consider the audiovisual elements of Lincoln's protest displayed here. I argue that while this 1964 live performance provides an opportunity to visualize Lincoln's scream, a hyper-focus on the scream through extreme close-up camera angles draws attention away from the totality of Lincoln's protest performance.
Gender and Jazz Education Roundtable: Introduction
No full textDo transnational jazz education spaces perpetuate exclusion and gender inequality, or are they fostering inclusive and safe environments? What challenges arise when analyzing transnational jazz cultures through a still-developing jazz studies framework, particularly from gender and feminist perspectives? What gender equality and diversity challenges are evident in contemporary debates, such as those spurred by Berklee’s Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice? Do transnational contexts offer significant opportunities to transform increasingly popular musical institutions through specific research and practical initiatives? Do these contexts provide adequate resources and support for implementing safer and more inclusive educational environments for all?
This issue's gender and jazz education roundtable engages with these questions by addressing local issues with global resonance, providing a necessary space for reflecting on educational environments within transnational jazz contexts
MENA Descendants & Genetic Abnormalities
No full textThis study aims to assess the impact of consanguinity in the Middle East and North Africa. The region, also referred to as the MENA region, spans from Morocco to Iran. These identified Arab countries have an increased risk of genetic disorders that can result in sickle cell anemia and thalassemia (“Middle East & North Africa” 2024). Specifically, this study investigates the increased prevalence of these disorders in the MENA region, as well as the contributing factors behind the practice, such as education level and age at the time of marriage. An in-depth comparative analysis of previous research on this topic was undertaken to draw the correlation between the levels of consanguineous marriages in the MENA region and the levels of genetic variation disorders. The analysis shows that there is a correlation between the two variables while highlighting the practices to counteract such variations in the Middle East. These findings suggest a greater need for adaptive medical practices in the United States to adequately assist the growing number of Arab Americans nationwide
TFF-3 Modulates Responsiveness to Bronchodilators in Airways
No full textRhinovirus (RV) is the major cause of exacerbations, or worsening of symptoms, in asthmatic children and adults. This often reduces the efficacy of therapeutic interventions such as bronchodilators — a type of medication used to promote airflow and alleviate asthma symptoms. The exact mechanisms through which RV exposure decreases responsiveness to bronchodilators remain unclear. Previous data demonstrates that airway cells release a specific signature of inflammatory mediators following RV exposure. Other research has shown that Trefoil Factor 3 (TFF-3), one of the mediators identified by our screen, regulates cell motility in other cell types. We show that RV exposure attenuates relaxation in both the airway and human airway smooth muscle (HASM). Given our data, we aim to examine whether or not TFF-3 attenuates the relaxation of HASM and airways.
Primary non-diseased human airway smooth muscle (HASM) was used to examine the consequences of TFF-3 in modulating HASM and airway relaxation. Following RV-C15 exposure, it was found that the airway and HASM relaxation was attenuated. TFF-3 exposure also attenuated both airway and HASM relaxation. Additionally, TFF-3 exposure partially weakened iso-induced reversal of carbachol-induced phosphorylation of the myosin light chain. Within the cADDis Live Cell Assays, which provide real-time kinetic measurements of cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) production, TFF-3 attenuated formoterol-induced cAMP production. Researching how bronchodilation pathways change following RV infection can lead to the development of effective treatments and pharmaceutical solutions to alleviate worsening asthma symptoms during a viral exacerbation of the disease
Three Strikes As Well: Asian, Woman, and Jazz Musician
No full textIn a 1951 Downbeat Magazine, Leonard Feather identified the primary issue facing British jazz pianist Marian McPartland’s work as a musician: she had “three hopeless strikes against her: English, white, and a girl.”
This article explores how Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) women jazz musicians view a similar “three strikes” related to their their cultural, gendered, and musical backgrounds. Following a review of relevant scholarship by Lina Y. S. Fong and Kevin Fellezs, this study consists of my analysis of semi-structured interviews with eleven AAPI women jazz musicians of different nationalities, instruments, and generations
From Women-in-Jazz to Gender-and-Jazz: Jazz Feminisms from 2017 to 2019
No full textBetween 2017 and 2019, the word “gender” flooded marketing materials of U.S.-based jazz institutions, ostensibly taking the place of the word “women.” What does this discursive change reveal to us? Riffing off of Sherrie Tucker’s category of women-in-jazz, this article examines the emergence of a new category, gender-and-jazz. Utilizing online ethnography and an anonymous online survey for non-male musicians, I analyze three different slogans (“Forget about Gender,” “The Future is Female,” and “Jazz without Patriarchy”) in order to examine how gendered jazz tropes transform into slogans, or branding for marketing and promotional materials. I argue that despite the varied language between these slogans, together they strive to accomplish the same goal of gender equity in jazz spaces. In doing so, this article offers a framework on how to “listen” to these slogans in order to understand who they are speaking to, who identifies with them, and how they naturalize, maintain, and challenge pre-established jazz discourses, especially within institutionalized spaces
June Tyson: On Erasure and Relevance
No full textAlongside the growth in feminist jazz scholarship that examines the marginalization of women within jazz practice, this case study continues the critique and revision of jazz historiography begun by scholars such as Lara Pellegrinelli, Sherrie Tucker, and Tracy McMullen by exploring the essential first vocalist in the Sun Ra Arkestra, June Tyson. In this study, I begin with a description of the Arkestra and its notorious leader; next I demonstrate Tyson’s essential role(s) in the ensemble, and I finish by describing some of her experiences in the ensemble. Throughout, I not only ask “who was June Tyson?” but I also explore reasons why many people, including jazz scholars and fans, are not aware of her
Filipina Singers and Jazz in Post-Colonial Manila
No full textWomen performing jazz in mid-twentieth century Manila could only be two types of musicians in public – as a singer or a pianist who sings. Bringing together anecdotes from interviews, mainstream media coverage, and analyses from Philippine studies, this paper presents a history of the jazz scene in Manila through the lives of female singers associated with the genre after the Second World War (1946 to 1970). How did a post-colonial region, particularly an American ex-colony, signify and engage with jazz? By illuminating how Filipina singers navigated key encounters, and observing how jazz and singers were identified in Manila’s press and in personal interviews, this paper explores the sociocultural meanings shaping the practice and history of jazz in the Philippines. This case study follows the lived experiences of Priscilla Aristoreñas, Katy de la Cruz, Thelma Quesada, Nora Linda, Dulce Din, Josie Quizon, Annie Brazil, Megan Herrera, Rita Posadas, and Nelda Navarro. As they navigated their gendered pathways and neo-colonial conditions as itinerant musicians in Manila and Asia and the Pacific’s U.S. military bases and entertainment circuit, their jazz identities became radiant. Interlacing their stories will depict how Manila’s scene was shaped by translocal networks along with gendered, racial, and class dynamics, offering a critical understanding of the history of jazz in the Philippines