They wiggled, they jiggled, they wore low cut gowns and short shorts, they kowtowed to the club owners and smiled at the customers…and they did it all, just to play the music they loved. In the thirties and forties, hundreds of women musicians toured the country in glamorous All-Girl Bands, while others played side by side with their male counterparts. Yet by the mid-fifties female jazz musicians had literally disappeared from the workplace; their names, their contributions to music, completely forgotten.
THE GIRLS IN THE BAND tells the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 30s to the present day.
These incredibly talented women endured sexism, racism and diminished opportunities for decades, yet continued to persevere, inspire and elevate their talents in a field that seldom welcomed them. Today, there is a new breed of gifted young women taking their rightful place in the world of jazz, which can no longer deny their talents.
“The Girls In The Band” documentary will be at the AFI Theater in Silver Spring Friday, June 6th at 7:15pm. The Girls In The Band features The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, founded by our own Dr. Cathy Hughes’ Grandfather, Laurence C. Jones and featured Ms. Hughes’ mother Helen Woods on Trombone.
For showtimes log on here: http://thegirlsintheband.com/2014/01/afi-silver-silver-spring-maryland/
