The topic of women in music is a hot-button issue right now. People are doing radio series about it, writing books and articles, and it is being taken seriously. Some concert orchestras have even altered their methods to incorporate blind auditions once organizers realized they were unconsciously biased towards male performers.
Yet jazz seems to somehow remain stoically misogynistic, stuck in some mid-century time warp that no amount of prodding, coercion or downright shouting seems to alter. It’s as if jazz remembers where it came from – a world where society and sometimes even women themselves had different expectations – but it cannot clearly see where it is going.
For many industries, the day has long come and gone where women (in engineering, space, politics, financial services, catering, teaching) stopped being the biggest issue people had to deal with. Equality really is no longer such a “thing.” The world moves on, society changes and we are developing inclusive ideas. Equality issues are turning into quality issues and slowly, things are changing. Gender is no longer thought of as binary, and what matters is what you bring to the business.
And then, there is jazz. Good old jazz with its wonderful music, its warmth, its community feeling and generosity. Yet, many women have told me that even in this day and age, there is still a sense of waiting for jazz to catch up with the rest of the world. Things are changing, just incredibly slowly. Many women feel they still have to prove themselves more than men and that the process continues with them having to prove themselves not once but over and over again.
That, however, is not what this piece is about. Rather, it is about the positive side in the U.K. and, it is hoped, elsewhere. There are numerous supportive venues that feature performers who are just darn good, regardless of gender. The UK also boasts some rather unique and abiding record labels that are held dear to the hearts of many musicians: We have Edition, Jellymould and Gearbox to name a few, and somehow they survive in spite of a current streaming climate where physical copies are a hard sell.
One label in particular which has been supporting British jazz musicians for 30 years in 2019 is 33Jazz Records. Many musicians began their careers with a contract from “33.” Several have stayed with the label – Tina May, for example, and Marco Marconi – but some have also moved on. 33Jazz has no problems with this, but rather looks for the next act to support. They have different outlet channels, including the miracle that is 33Extreme and their WM label, which supports the more avant garde and free improvisational recordings. Those projects can be difficult to place, if you are a musician in this field.
However, part of 33Jazz Records’ initial raison d’etre and very much part of their ethos today is the support of women in music, particularly jazz music. Based in Luton, Bedfordshire and affectionately known as “33,” the label has supported a long list of female performers – and, in 1989 when they started, this was somewhat unusual.
“During the later part of the 1980s, after 10 years of administrating the 33 Jazz Club [in Luton], it was decided that Luton Community Arts Trust should form a trading arm to look after the commercial development of both the club and the 33 Arts Centre,” according to executive producer (and tireless supporter of U.K. jazz) Paul Jolly. “Within the brief of the new company, 33 RPM Ltd, it was agreed to develop a record label to enhance the programming work of the center.”
Jolly notes that the label’s initial projects weren’t jazz at all. “In ’89-90, 33 RPM released its first albums, featuring soul singers Sister Rose and Cuttie Williams,” he adds. “The first jazz releases followed, including work by Sketch and the guitar-based groups New Noakes Quartet and Kimbara Brothers, alongside the duo of Lorenzo & Morgan.”
Still, the focus on encouraging women was always there. “Underlining the philosophy of the label, and based on the programming of the club, it was fundamental that the label should focus on bringing the work of female musicians and vocalists to a wider public,” Jolly says. “The label’s fifth release, therefore, featured the singer Tina May – which led to a creative relationship that has lasted for nearly 30 years and involved 17 releases from a singer that many consider the Europe’s premier jazz vocalist.”
Early on, it became clear that selling compact discs at gigs (an important part of a musician’s income for many) would be difficult for women, since they did not have any to sell – even amongst the best performers. So, this small label decided to concentrate on female musicians, an idea that was streets ahead of the rest at the time.
“It was obvious at that time that many female jazz artists were being ignored by the male-dominated clubs and labels, so ‘33’ embarked on bringing balance,” Jolly says, “releasing early albums from artists including pianist Andrea Vicari, saxophonists Clare Hurst and Karen Sharp, singers Estelle Kokot, Maggie Nicols, Jarmila Gorna, Louise Gibbs and Anita Wardell. As the label grew, ‘33’ maintained its devotion to female jazz artists, both UK and internationally based – releasing albums from American vocalists Deborah Brown, Leslie Paula, Shaynee Rainbolt, and Joan Viskant, Italian pianist Aisha HR and two albums from Italian bassist Silvia Bolognesi [who now works and records with the Art Ensemble of Chicago].
“Other U.K. artists releasing with ‘33’ include saxophonists Alison Neale and Charlotte Glasson, pianist Kate Williams, and vocalists Kaz Simmons, Nia Lynn, Jacqui Hicks, Joanna Eden and Karen Lane,” he adds. “Non-jazz releases have also featured female artists – bassist Daphna Sadeh, Japanese pianist Taeko Kunishima, Polish artist Aleksandra Kwasniewska and U.K. poet Paula Rae Gibson.”
Of course, 33Jazz Records does not solely put out female led recordings. There are also albums by Benet Mclean, the People Band, Ben Croft, Renato D’Aillo, Geoff Eales and many more – totaling well over 300 releases.
Even now, the list of female performers that this label supports continues to grow. Recent acts have included Kitty La Roar, Gigi, Jayne Mason, Jo Schwartz, Miriam Aziz, and many others. Even if they do not release on the label, 33Jazz Records offers support in promotion and distribution. The label also gets involved in many events which promote U.K. jazz, such as the London Jazz Platform, a showcase for 14 acts that was curated by this writer curated in 2017 and sponsored by the U.S. radio station Jazz Bites.
So, while female musicians face ongoing issues and struggles for recognition, it is clear that some labels, people and organizations have long been stalwart supporters of good music – and of women performers, in particular. It is, of course, hoped that the issue of gender equality will become far less of an issue in the future. But with labels like 33Jazz Records, putting out great jazz and including women on absolute parity with men, there will always be hope.
Here’s to another 30 years, 33Jazz Records. A full list of the label’s releases can be found here.
- Joan Torres’s All Is Fused – ‘Embrace Form’ (2024) - July 14, 2024
- Julian Costello – ‘Vertigo’ (2024) - June 29, 2024
- Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz – ‘Contrapasso’ (2024) - June 21, 2024
