Women In Jazz have launched The Year Of Women In Jazz, a 12-month programme consisting of new music releases, live performances, talks and mentorship to highlight the Women In Jazz community.
The launch of the campaign – which is supported by the likes of Love Supreme Festival, Soho House, London Jazz Festival, Soho Radio and more – is the result of ongoing research conducted within the Women In Jazz community over the last year, focusing on the roles and challenges for women in the UK Jazz scene. The research revealed that 55.8% of people agreed that women were ‘very poorly’ or ‘poorly’ represented in the jazz scene, with only 16.4% feeling that women were well represented.
As a result of these findings, Women In Jazz identified six key areas that will be spotlighted over the next 12 months: the need for more representation and visibility; mentorship and career development; inclusive and collaborative spaces; support for behind the scenes roles; financial and educational support and gender equal programming and networking.
As a part of the initiative, 12 singles will also be released throughout the year, in partnership with London-based record label New Soil and Marathon Music Group, performed and produced by artists in the Women in Jazz network. Each artist will receive support throughout the year from Women In Jazz – including mentoring, studio time and live performance opportunities.
The first offering is Italian bass player and composer Rosa Brunello’s Uno Punto Uno.
“I am thrilled to announce a huge milestone for Women in Jazz,” said Louise Paley, co-founder of Women In Jazz. “This year marks The Year Of Women In Jazz: a project that celebrates the diverse voices of women in jazz. Last year, we conducted an in depth exploration of the experiences in our community. The findings highlighted the challenges and opportunities faced by women in this space. This programme is deeply personal to me as a reflection of the untapped potential and stories waiting to be told in the UK Jazz scene.”