Jazz Girls Day – Why and How

Jazz Girls Day 2023 is coming up soon on April 11th ! Find out below about this opportunity for young women and how to host your own event.

While contemporary gender theorists have overturned the belief that there are biological boundaries in the musical abilities of women, the notion seems to live on in the jazz world. The continued narrative of the ‘emerging’ field of women in jazz still includes the branding of brass and percussion instruments as male, a remarkable female dropout rate in pre-college jazz programs (Boeyink, 2015), and a lingering perception of women instrumentalists as spectacles and novelty acts. A recent study comparing survey comments in response to a female-led performance versus listening to the audio only of the same performance revealed that, while listeners were highly complementary on traits of virtuosity and leadership for the audio version only, the same characteristics were never mentioned in response to the in-person performance (Jovicevic, 2023, unpublished doctoral dissertation). The cycle can be broken through interventions at any level, starting with personal gestures such as inviting a female friend to a jam session or decorating a classroom with diverse pictures.

Recent efforts addressing these social and pedagogical issues include the presentation of Jazz Girls Days, initially launched by trombonist and band director Sarah Kline at Berkley High School in 2012. These workshop days are free and open to all girls ages 10-18 who sing or play an instrument and are usually led by a group of women mentors. After initial introductions and various group workshops, the girls work in combos and share the results in a final concert. As Wehr (2016) suggested, this new pedagogical approach supports building self-efficacy and higher participation and performance levels. Over the past seven years, I have organized Jazz Girls Days in Indiana, Germany, and Vienna. Our 2023 Indiana Jazz Girls Day is scheduled for April 11 at Noblesville High School, just north of Indianapolis – here is more info . The program can easily be replicated. Here are some tips for initiating a Jazz Girls Day in your community.

Find a Space and a Date

The basic concept of Jazz Girls Day is working in small combos to experience the joy of making music together and improvising. However, that requires several rehearsal spaces equipped with drums, bass and guitar amps, a keyboard, and possibly a small PA. For example, with 15-20 participants, at least three rehearsal spaces are needed, often available in schools and colleges. We have also presented several Jazz Girls Days in public libraries or similar community spaces. However, organizing and setting up drum sets, keyboards, and amps can be labor-intensive. I recommend partnering with a school and pinpointing a suitable date when the needed rooms are available, either after school or on the weekend, for at least 4-5 hours. Since March is Women’s History Month, I often present the events during March.

Find Mentors

Ideally, the mentors for Jazz Girls Day should be a combo of established female instrumentalists with vocals. Sometimes that takes a bit of research and asking colleagues for recommendations, especially rhythm section instruments. If possible, avoid compromises, as the mentors serve as role models in addition to leading the combos.

Fundraising

Jazz Girls Day can be presented on a reasonable budget of $1500 – 3000, ensuring a positive and professional presentation. The main budget items are mentor fees, as they teach and perform for about six hours and should be paid accordingly. The participants will need printed music. Adding a little swag, such as a T-Shirt or bag, reinforces the community-building efforts and the fun factor. Other cost items are water and refreshments, possibly a pizza dinner before the evening concert. Depending on the location, room rental, and tech support costs will need to be covered. I advise partnering with a local non-profit organization willing to administer tax-deductible donations. Funds can be solicited from private donors, businesses, grants, foundations, and even Facebook fundraisers or crowdfunding campaigns can be effective. The best strategy is to establish personal contact with potential supporters via an attractive letter describing the need and offering various levels of support, monetary or in-kind. High-level sponsors can display their logos on the T-shirts, and in-kind sponsors might provide free or discounted refreshments or help with printing and equipment. Frequent follow-up efforts will yield the needed results.

Getting Participants

Feedback from past Jazz Girls Days shows that 100% of participants decide to sign up based on recommendations by teachers, mentors, or friends. Hence, a personal letter and a poster must go out to teachers, schools, and music studios. Prominent poster placement in libraries and malls and a press release to local media can also be helpful. Once the girls experience the fun of playing with others and improvising, they will come back and bring friends in future years. However, establishing initial contact may take research, networking, and offering workshops or presentations. Encourage participants to register via a website portal to track attendance numbers and instrument distribution and to communicate details closer to the event.

Preparing Materials

As I mentioned earlier, some cool merch items are attractive. T-shirts make for excellent group pictures, year-long memories, and great displays of sponsor logos. Bags can serve the same function, as well as pencils and stickers. Beginning combo packs from publishers like Alfred Music usually have a wealth of music materials. Make sure to get a few for all instruments. Expect to work at the most basic level, as most girls have little experience in the jazz style and must prepare a performance in two hours. A Blues Jam with everyone at the end has also proven successful, with everyone preparing the melody for C-Jam Blues , the chord structure, and a few Blues improv patterns during the combo rehearsal time. Make sure to have music packets with about five tune choices from C-Jam Blues to another blues and three easy standards in various styles ready for C, B-flat, E-flat, and bass instruments matching the sign-up distribution. I suggest getting a helper or two and setting up a registration table at the event to check off registrants and distribute music and merch.

The Event

As everyone arrives in the main performance space, we usually start with a couple of tunes performed by the mentors to inspire and break the ice. Each mentor should share their personal stories and path into jazz. Then the girls introduce themselves with their age, school, and previous instrumental experience. According to instrument distribution, level, and friend preferences, divide the group into combos and assign one or two mentors to each. If there is enough time, a beginning improv workshop with everyone can be helpful. If time is tight, move into combo rooms after the introductions. About 90 minutes before performance time, take a break with pizza and refreshments. Each combo sound checks their piece on stage in reverse performance order, while others can socialize over drinks and refreshments. Invite families and the community to the final free performance and have every combo showcase their piece with a final blues jam. Depending on the program’s length and the mentors’ preferences, another mentor showcase tune could be an inspirational program start. In any case, capture the joy of the final performance and the day with lots of pictures and encourage the girls to keep exploring the process of creating music together.

After Jazz Girls Day

With permission of the participants, share pictures and videos with the community and sponsors and thank everyone for their support. Also, follow up with participants and mentors for feedback on the experience. There is always something to be learned and improved. Start planning for next year!

Of course, these are all suggestions. Some presenters have created extended and more frequent workshops. Other possibilities include more mentor workshops and thought exchanges. The options are endless, and the choices depend on preferences, resources, and personnel, and ultimately are up to the presenter. However, it is clear that action creates impact, and offering Jazz Girls Days events has proven to make a long-term impact.