LOS ANGELES — Women, and all that jazz.
That’s the focus of the Leimert Park Jazz Festival presents Narratives & Notes, Jazz Through Her Lens, from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. May 28, followed by a reception from 8:30 to 9:30.
The event is in partnership with the venue, The Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd.
“Narratives & Notes” is a program series from producer Diane Robertson’s Leimert Park Jazz Festival that brings together artists, culture bearers and leaders to explore the intersections of jazz and society. The series invites audiences to engage more deeply with jazz and the people who shape it.
The evening will celebrate women’s voices and artistry in jazz. It will feature a moderated discussion with distinguished women in jazz interwoven with live music performed by an all-female band.
Panelists include Katie Thiroux, a bassist, vocalist and bandleader recognized for her work in jazz education and mentorship; Tierney Sutton, a nine-time Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist known for her imaginative treatments of the great American songbook, and world-renowned jazz violinist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship recipient Regina Carter.
“I think it’s important to have these discussions with women musicians,” said Carter, a professor of music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. “We are still a minority out here. It may not look like it.”
Carter said she “can count on one hand the young women focusing on jazz.”
“Why do you think that is?” she asked. “A lot of times, vocalists are the most I see. Instrumentalists don’t see themselves represented. There was to be a space for them early on in school, and they were made to feel comfortable and not shut out.
“They need to be exposed to women instrumentalists. It takes a certain personality not to let what’s going on affect you.”
Carter, a native of Detroit, has been playing the violin since age 4.
“When I got to high school, I met Carla Cook, who turned me on to my first jazz violin record,” Carter said. “It was Jean-Luc Ponty. I was surprised the violin could have a groove.
“Playing the violin gave me a sense of freedom,” she added. “It has an emotional impact on me. Growing up playing European classical music made me nervous. I felt I had to be perfect.
“Letting go of the fear of making a mistake was another sense of freedom. I’ve always had a clear vision of what I wanted and where I saw myself.”
Carter won’t be playing the violin at the event due to an injury she sustained a year ago.
“I had a severely pinched nerve in my spine,” said Carter, who has had two spine surgeries. “It affected my right hand. Some of the injuries are from overuse and improper posture. The injury came from years of playing. Being unable to play has messed with my headspace.”
The co-moderators of “Jazz Through Her Lens” include violinist, composer, author, artistic director, educator Lesa Terry and acclaimed bassist and composer Nedra Wheeler.
“I hope the panelists reveal how they can balance time to create and the reality of juggling performances,” said Wheeler, a native Angeleno. “How do you realize your expression? What are some of their experiences in maintaining their art and themselves?
“Being an artist or a working musician, you must really want to do it. There are a lot of highs, lows, and low lows,” she added. “I would imagine it’s like anything else.”
Wheeler said she balances herself by “staying present.”
“I’m a person of faith, that’s first,” she said. “I do one thing at a time and try my best. I try to do things well. My mother said, ‘You can learn from anybody, and you can add that to what you already know.’”
Wheeler said she believes the event will have a “tremendous impact.”
“All the artists on the panel come from various backgrounds and rich music traditions,” Wheeler said. “The audience can learn what these artists have achieved in their music, recording, composition, travels and education. I’m sure somebody will be able to glean more.
“This is a group of heavyweight artists,” she added. “It’s not every day that you hear from this class of artists and how they could maneuver to get their work done.”
Wheeler said there are several things a person has to decide when they are working on their music or preparing something for another artist to play.
“For me, there are many details whether I’m performing or writing music,” said Wheeler, who teaches music at Watts Towers Arts Center campus and music appreciation at Los Angeles Southwest College. “How we honor each other, knowing that these musicians have traveled worldwide and played in great concert halls and with wonderful artists. How will we impact our young people to carry the music forward?”
Wheeler said one thing that people should know about the world of female jazz artists is that “It’s hard work.”
“You have to practice,” she said. “You have to be really, really, really good. You have to be committed and dedicated and know what you want to do. Find something that brings you joy.
“I promised to go to the gig joyfully and leave with it. That’s the present to myself. If I contribute to whatever it is, I’m doing it to create a bouquet of beautiful flowers.”
Wheeler said that when someone hires live performers, they’re telling people that they want them to have a positive experience and showing that they care.
“It says you’re going out of the way because you want them to have an experience with wonderful music,” Wheeler said. “Good music never goes out of style.”
Tickets for Narratives & Notes, Jazz Through Her Lens are available on the Leimert Park Jazz Festival website: Leimertparkjazzfestival.org
The Leimert Park Jazz Festival also presents Sunday Jazz at Aziz Gallerie, 3343 W. 43rd St., featuring the Weldon Scott Quartet (May 26, June 22), Gengis Don (July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28), and Kenneth Brown II (Oct. 26, Nov. 23, Dec. 28). Tickets are $10-$15
Information: www. leimertparkjazzfestival.org
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
