Celebrating Women in Jazz

Mary Lou Williams

In honor of Women's History Month we are gearing up for a brand new Discover Jazz series at the Jazz Heritage Center beginning Tuesday, March 6th, and taking place every Tuesday through April 24th from 7-9pm. Taught by several treasures of our Bay Area music scene - including Marcus Shelby, Pamela Rose, Amanda King and Nina Ott along with yours truly Rebeca Mauleón - this series will open your eyes and ears to the amazing and often under-appreciated contributions of women instrumentalists, songwriters and band leaders, as well as the many cross-cultural and multi-ethnic components to jazz music.

Peggy Lee

Among the extraordinary women to be highlighted in this 8-part series are Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Peggy Lee, Mary Lou Williams, Doris Fisher, Valaida Snow, Blanche Calloway, Maria Teresa Vera, Ida Cox, Celia Cruz and many others. Each class will be taught by one of our five lead artists and include multi-media presentation, Q&A and live performance with special guest artists. If you love jazz history and have always wanted to know more about the women of this music, you won't want to miss this opportunity to engage with knowledgeable artist-educators in an intimate setting. Come celebrate women in jazz in the historic San Francisco Fillmore District!! Click here for more details. SFJAZZ wishes to thank the Koret Foundation for its generous support to this series.

-- Rebeca