Meet The Next Jazz Legacy Class Of Women And Non-Binary Jazz Stars

Baltin: There are so many great organizations like We Are Moving The Needle, working for women's rights in music. Are there other companies you work with or that inspire you?

Carrington: Yes, there are a lot of great organizations doing good work with the effort to better level the playing field. I’m inspired by The Woodshed Network, started by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski, as well as Sara Serpa and Jen Shyu’s Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M3) program. The Boulanger Initiative is also doing great work, among many others all striving for similar goals of gender justice.Reed: I have always been inspired by Terri Lyne’s work at the Berklee Institue of Jazz and Gender Justice and I was aware of her work when I was based in the UK. In our role as grantmaker at New Music USA we have supported various other inspirational initiatives in the US which are empowering women and gender expansive artists across a range of music genres. I also admire the work of Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa and their Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M3) program which New Music USA has supported. Other initiatives we’ve been proud to support include El Paso Jazz Girls led by Amanda Ekery, and the Boulanger Initiative led by Laura Colgate and Joy Leilani. I’m impressed by the work of the Willie Mae Rock Camp led by LaFrae Sci. I’m also proud that the Keychange initiative I founded in my previous role PRS Foundation (UK) is continuing to grow with the ongoing participation of 12 European and Canadian partners. This combines an industry pledge towards gender equity with a talent development program for artists and music industry professionals.

ForbesAysha Hussain