Musicwoman Magazine Spring 2021

Gathering great women musicians together and getting their music heard by multitudes!

Spring 2021

Issue #3

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Women Who Pluck Strings spring 2021

Dr. Joan Cartwright, Executive Director Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. 954-740-3398 Support women musicians!

Musicwoman Magazine©®™ TEAM

Dr. Joan Cartwright Editor-in-Chief

Publisher: Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. Founder/Executive Director: Dr. Joan Cartwright – admin@wijsf.org Creative Director: Dr. Joan Cartwright Executive Administrator: Mimi Johnson – media@wijsf.org Social Media: Mimi Johnson; Marika Guyton; Libra Sene Editorial Staff: Dr. Joan Cartwright, Cheryl Wooding Creative Team: Lydia Harris, Jodylynn Talevi, Mimi Johnson, Melton Mustafa, Jr. Contributing Writers: Ariane Cap, Alvin Carter Bey, Dr. Joan Cartwright, Charlene Farrington, Terri Fowler, Lydia Harris, Gail Jhonson, Mimi Johnson,

Nicole “Niki” Kottmann, Katarina Gradimir Lazarević,

Soldanela Rivera, Rob Scheps, Biggi Vinkeloe CONNECT General Inquiries: info@wijsf.org Sponsorships: wijsf@yahoo.com Musicwoman Podcast: www.blogtalkradio.com/musicwoman Social Media: www.wijsf.org www.musicwomanmagazine.com www.facebook.com/groups/musicwomanmagazine www.issuu.com/joancartwright/docs/mwm_3_2_2020

www.twitter.com/wijsf | www.twitter.com/musicwoman Submissions: http://www.wijsf.com/musicwomanmagazine/submissions.htm DISTRIBUTION For sale at Publix Super Markets, Barnes and Nobles Bookstores, and at wijsf.org Complimentary issues can be found year-round at select high-traffic locations and high-profile events through South Florida.

Check our website and fb pages for up-to-date lists of events.

Cover photos: All photos of Mariea Antoinette are by Cece Canton All photos of Kim Clarke are by Wolgang Ganaus

All photos of Ana Popović are by Ruben Tomas

All photos of Cynthia Sayer are by Gary Spector Read Spring 2021 online: https://issuu.com/joancartwright/docs/musicwomanmagazine2021 300 High Point Boulevard, Unit A, Boyton Beach, FL 33435

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table of contents

From the Editor by Dr. Joan Cartwright 6 Irene Robbins, International President 11 Features: d Kim Clarke by Rob Scheps 13 d Cynthia Sayer by Nicole “Niki” Kottmann 15 d Radha Botofasina by Soldanela Rivera 17 d Mariea Antoinette by Terri Fowler 19 d Destiny Muhammad by Gail Jhonson 21 d Karen Briggs by Gail Jhonson 25 d Annika Törnqvist by Biggi Vinkeloe 27 d KJ Denhert by Joan Cartwright 29 d Robin Bramlett by Gail Jhonson 31 d Ana Popović by Katarina Gradimir Lazarević

33 Short Stories: d Featured contributor, Gail Jhonson 22 d Lessons in Quarantine by Ariane Cap 35 d Marketing and The Pandemic by Mimi Johnson 36 d Theater Stage Playwright & Production by Mimi Johnson 37 d Tales from the Dusty Trail 38 d Health Corner: On That Note by Lydia Harris 41 d In Memorium 42 d Jazz: The Joan Cartwright Collection, Spady Museum 48 d Creating Harmony from Cacophony by Dakota Parks 56

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south florida

Dr. Joan Cartwright Editor-in Chief

since 2007

www.wijsf.org

From the Editor

If three is the charm, then this issue is magic! Throughout my career, I sang with the bass player. Kim Clarke was one of the first bassist I recorded with. That demo got me many gigs and we remain friends and colleagues in the world of Musicwomen. It is only fitting that Kim is featured in this issue about Women Who Pluck Strings.

Among these gifted string players is Karen Briggs, a world-class violinist whom I met with Jazz in Pink led by our star contributor Gail Jhonson. I first encountered Karen in a YouTube concert as the Lady in Red with Yanni. I was rapt by her pizzazz! When she traveled to the Alabama Women in Jazz Festival, I had the privilege of meeting her, after a mesmerizing performance with Jazz in Pink.

Each of the women featured in this issue has stardust on her dress tail. They have weathered the storm of the male-dominated music industry to emerge as sirens of hope and joy. The year of the pandemic, 2020 presented insurmountable challenges for people, worldwide. Musicians had to throw on their amazing technicolor dream coats and wave their wands to make music through Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Gayelynn McKinney’s suggestion that she has Tales from the Dusty Trail catapulted us into a column that will have a long-lasting shelf life in this publication. We will gather more of these anecdotes for future issues. Meanwhile, enjoy the short tales told by Radha Botofasina, Gayelynn, and me. Then, Lydia Harris’ Health Corner has tips on staying alive and well.

I have no doubt that the 2021 issue will provide our readers with hours of discovery about some of the finest string instrumentalists in the country and the world. Enjoy the read and join us in our quest to promote women musicians, globally, by sharing Musicwoman Magazine with a friend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joan Cartwright Editor/Publisher

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Musicwomen on Radio

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Artwork by Caron Bowman

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Caron Bowman is a multi-disciplined artist and her work spans many techniques including drawing, painting, and fiber media. She received international recognition and exhibited at the Marc Chagall Museum, DuSable Museum, Harlem Fine Arts Show, ARCO Madrid Fair, Continuum Art Fair, and Art Africa Fair. An American artist of AfroHonduran descent, she was born in West Palm Beach and her parents are from Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. Caron has a B.A. in History and M.A. in ESE. Her influences were pop art, surrealism, and graffiti art that she synthesized into her work. Her artwork is about intensity of color, curved lines, and daring patterns unified into one language with a dream-like quality to the rhythm and unfurling of the forms in her work.

She describes her art as SoFlo Superflat with emphasis on dark outlines and flat areas of color. She said, “My personal quest is to create art with a spirit, moreover, transforming two dimensional materials into spiritual substance. I use the vocabulary of color to speak, visually, in different languages, creating a relationship between the unconscious and conscious mind via abstraction and symbolism."

Regarding the sculpture, Caron wrote, “Known as the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone was an iconic African-American singer whose distinctive voice brought an unmatched level of eclecticism across five decades. The artwork expresses the connection between art and musical improvisation.”

Kinetic Biennial Since 2013, the City of Boynton Beach has curated an internationally unique, one-of a-kind kinetic art experience every two years. Art and technology collide to create kinetic art, which is fine art powered by solar, wind, light, sound, robotics, water, gravity and other elements. The fifth Kinetic Art Exhibit displays 20 outdoor sculptures along E. Ocean Avenue, between Seacrest Blvd. and U.S.1. On the weekend of March 6-7, 2021, a symposium, indoor gallery exhibitions, food trucks and musical performances were held in Boynton Beach Town Square. www.boyntonbeacharts.org Karibu Spinners Six of the kinetic sculptures originate from the exhibition Karibu: A Celebration of Black Artists in Palm Beach County. ATB Fine Art Group Inc. curated the exhibition for the Cultural Council of Palm Beach in Lake Worth in the Winter of 2021. Karibu (pronounced kah-ree-boo) means “Welcome, come in,” in Swahili. The artists are Caron Bowman, Anthony Burks Sr., Tracy Guiteau, Cynthia Simmons, Raquel Williams, and Gillian Kennedy Wright.

P.S. Anthony Burks, Sr. created the logo for Gaiafest: A Celebration of Mother Earth with Women in Jazz in 1998.

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"This is not only a terrific performance of significant songs, but it also is a collection of poignant statements – so needed at this time in our history.”

5 out of 5 stars - AMAZON

PURCHASE ON: Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, iTunes & more

www.donna-singer.com

Friday, April 30, 2021

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My COVID Musical Experience

by Irene Robbins First of all, the Pandemic? Well, they say it started in the winter of 2019, or the spring of 2020 and still going strong. My response is, WE must be strong. Especially us musicians who have a role in the future of this planet and a role in the vibrational system. WE need to do our music with courage, hard work, and love.

Also, I took a few pop tunes that had profound lyrics and I changed the chords. I tried new rhythms, using latin and new grooves. This led me to recording them and adding video and photos to make them more interesting. Most importantly, I began composing, again, after years of stagnation. I wrote several pieces for piano, voice, and strings.

Then, at WIJSF, we are women in Jazz. This is the music that pours light, through improvisation and sound, to be enjoyed and used by the human race. This is our role as WOMEN, the keepers of the home, the lovers, the producers of LIFE, to pull us out of this negativity and disease, to make healthy bodies and souls.

On a personal level, I made a route throughout my house to walk quickly through each day. I took long walks away from crowds and, finally, got my mountain bike out for long rides. A healthy mind in healthy body, they say, right?

Ok, I’m no spring chicken, but I can feel good!

So, what did I do during the lockdown? To be honest, it was a beautiful transitional period for me. I had so much time to study, practice, think, and live on my terrace, overlooking the rolling hills of Bologna. I gave myself a long-term goal.

During the third lockdown, I started a Keto diet and intermittent fasting that eliminated the pain in my joints! So, what did I do during the pandemic? So much! I found my peace, again, and lots of time for creative expression!

I wanted to learn a Debussy piece on piano that I had never studied before at the University of I wish the same for all you Michigan. I worked on it every day for a couple Creative Women in Jazz. months, piece by piece, and achieved my goal.

At the same time, I studied jazz standards and Love, practiced adding new chord changes.

Irene Robbins International President of WIJSF, Inc.

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www.wijsf.org

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KIM CLARKE

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Bassist Kim Clarke: A Major Figure in the Worlds of Jazz and Funk Music by Rob Scheps Hailing from Queens, NY, Kim Clarke has played acoustic bass with many jazz greats including Joe Henderson, Junior Cook, Rachel Z, Bertha Hope, Geri Allen, and Cindy Blackman. She has played electric bass for over thirty years with the legendary downtown funk band Defunkt, led by trombonist/ singer Joe Bowie. Kim has been the bassists with the Kit McClure Big Band for 34 years. She has a wealth of experience, having toured internationally for many years, in Europe, Russia, and Asia. She is singular among bassists and well-respected in the field. She is an original composer and a stylistic innovator on electric bass with Defunkt. In 2003, Kim founded the Lady Got Chops Annual Jazz Festival in New York City and surrounding areas.

RS: How did you come to music as a child? Did you study music theory?

KC: I came to music as an only child, genetically and environmentally. My paternal Granddad was a Vaudevillian trombonist turned bassist. He toured with Cab Calloway- was on some of the first phonograph recordings, toured with his own band The Alabamians and played in some early Jazz films.

He kept his acoustic bass on a stairway landing in his Brownstone. He let me pluck as a tiny child. I think that gave me the bug because I went on to stretch with rubber bands, over a small empty cardboard box to get a plucked tone. My Caribbean Father always told me stories of his Brooklyn childhood with friends in jazz such as Cecil Payne, Tommy Potter and dances at Putnam Central. He tuned in to the big band station on the radio before going to work daily. My Southern Mom listened to Southern blues called gut bucket.

Both used to swing dance. In my teens, I got a clock radio and remember being inspired by two artists Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies and Charlie Parker’s Just Friends from the Bird with Strings album.

RS: Do you compose? If so, how many songs have you composed?

KC: I have composed music in the past - about 25 so far - I have not recorded all yet.

RS: Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? KC: With BMI. RS: Are you aware of the challenges that women face in the male-dominated field of music?

KC: Women face challenges in most fields when judged upon their physical externals as opposed to the value of their contributions. For example, in the past, female writers used a male nom de plume as a strategy to avert negativity and prejudice. Neither prejudice nor nepotism is solely gender-based.

RS: What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of literature or music performance? Know thyself.

Study to improve. Be kind, courteous, knowledgeable, watchful. Be on time, better, early, and quiet. The business is competitive but the architects and the true art are about love.

RS: You were a student of Ron Carter?

KC: Yes, I studied with Ron with an NEA grant. He was kind but stern. Blunt. He gave me a definite way to practice- 4 hours a day, in the mirror, watching postures. I was in a rough period and Ron gave me an anchor to straighten me out. All my lessons with him were on Fender; I got an upright bass after studying with Ron. Two other NEA grants helped me to study with Buster Williams and Lisle Atkinson too. Buster & Ron had a two bass band at the time, which is how I became aware of Buster. I liked his triplets and his walking. Lisle’s lessons were more about scales and bowing.

RS: How was working with Joe Henderson?

KC: Joe heard me as the house bassist at Barry Harris’s jam sessions and then hired me. Right place, right time.

Joe had a conservative but funny character. He was very colorful, creative, inspiring. It was the pinnacle of jazz touring for me - it was my first time playing small jazz clubs in Europe. I worked with pianists Joanne Brackeen, Renee Rosnes, and Jim McNeely with Joe. It was awesome. Joe taught me to be in the moment while playing; he felt that the bandstand was a sacred place.

RS: Tell us about Defunkt.

KC: I met Kelvyn Bell at a jam session in NY. He told me Joe Bowie was looking for a bassist. I started in 1981. (con’t on page 59)

At a local school, I took a few music lessons on a plastic recorder. I tried to copy what I heard Jimi doing. Later, my babysitter dug out an old guitar from her garage, which I could never figure out. Then, a friend from the neighborhood sold me a no-name electric bass for $15.

I learned bass playing along with my babysitterinspired record collection. I was about 17 or 18 years old. I took the bass away to college along with my records and record player. I studied music theory at the Jazzmobile Workshop with Barry Harris in NYC and briefly in college when I changed my major to music.

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C

CYNTHIA SAYER

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Cynthia Sayer Trailblazing Jazz Banjoist

by Nicole “Niki” Kottmann

Cynthia Sayer’s resume is peppered with firsts. She is the first 4-string banjoist on the cover of the musician union’s International Musician Magazine (Jan 2021); the first jazz banjoist winner of the Bistro Award (2019) and Global Music Awards (2018); and the first 4-string banjoist in the history of the iconic Newport Jazz Festival to appear as a featured artist. But when asked about her proudest moments, the acclaimed musician doesn’t mention her firsts. Nor does she mention being inducted into the American Banjo Hall Of Fame, or when The New York Times praised her “drive and virtuosity.”

Road to the Pros For the next several years, Sayer’s main focus was school. She graduated high school and college early, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. Her parents suggested law because she wanted a degree she could use to help the world. The thought of becoming a musician seemed too self-indulgent.

“Working with legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli was achieving a threshold for me. I remember waiting for him to come to my apartment to rehearse and thinking ‘Bucky Pizzarelli is coming over, that’s pretty cool!’” she said. “That was my first important project because I was working with three jazz legends, and wrote my first album arrangements. Both huge to me.”

early 20s. She studied music theory while learning on the job like an apprentice.

“I was so clueless,” Sayer said. “I didn’t understand the importance of giving joy as a job.”

When she graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in English, Sayer postponed thoughts of law As an artist devoted to performing and recording school. She did local gigs for years and was ready for high-quality music, Sayer instead notes her first bigger adventures, overseas with a USO Tour. concert with the New York Philharmonic and the She never looked back. Sayer started booking gigs release of her first album The Jazz Banjo Of Cynthia all around New York City as a side player and band Sayer Volume One (2016) as career highlights. leader, learning more about the genre throughout her

Sayer’s perception of her instrument changed in those early years. Initially, she thought of the 4-string banjo as showbizzy and sing-along, due to its popular use in those arenas. And she wasn’t alone. The banjo was a fringe instrument in jazz, despite its integral role in the genre’s history.

Nothing to Compare When Sayer started banjo lessons at the age of 13, she had little reference to the instrument. That changed, after her parents, desperate for anything to distract their daughter from her desire to play drums, saw an ad for a banjo teacher named Patty Fischer.

It wasn’t until she heard a recording of Harlem Banjo!

by Elmer Snowden that Sayer realized the banjo is a driving instrument with integrity and swing. Her eyes and ears opened to the banjo’s dynamic musical possibilities and she was hooked.

Sayer dreamed of a life of adventure and independence like her instructor’s. Fischer was not only a professional musician, but a professional fine artist, and an amateur astronomer. She wrote a children’s book, hung out with Shel Silverstein, and traveled to Red China before Nixon. She embodied what a woman could be, particularly, in Sayer’s native Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where most women were stay-at-home moms.

“I’m a multi-instrumentalist, and playing jazz makes me feel joyful, free, and strong,” Sayer said.

“The banjo, with its honest, raw-ish yet powerful sound, is the tool which best enables me to articulate and improvise. I love the inherent balancing of individual and communal expression. It’s a heady experience to ride on the crest of a musical wave, not know what will happen next, and be comfortable and confident that I’ll be fine.”

“I was brought up to believe that I could be and do anything,” Sayer said. “Yet, I saw no examples. I had Paving the Way never met a woman who was a professional in the arts Sayer recalled feeling uncomfortable around other before.” jazz musicians early on. They were nice, but she never got an invite when the guys got together to listen to Fisher died young, of lung cancer, but her impact on records. However, she admits that she was shy. that young Jersey girl never faded. (con’t on page 61)

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Radha Botofasina by Soldanela Rivera As one of the oldest instruments on earth, the harp’s tales go back to the biblical court of King Saul, who would call on the warrior David, who would become the King of Israel, to play to comfort his angst and sorrow. Imagine a simple string instrument standing through millenniums of empires and wars, still delivering its simple purpose to comfort and heal.

Her musical achievements prove the real raison d’être or pinnacle of art and creation’s importance—to help humanity heal and understand itself. The intention is so pure it eludes many. But the fact remains that music can prepare us for redemption. The practical world has broken the spirit and wherewithal of many.

There is so much depravity, despair, and noise it can be hard to find the space and sounds that anchor us to humanity.

As I listened to Harpist and multi-instrumentalist Radha Botofasina’s music catalog, I was convinced that she has traveled through time and space in the “Seek and ye shall find” say the scriptures and Radha realm of the soul or the invisible. Mystical sounds do Botofasina’s devoted and blessed musical path not just happen. They occur from the depth of journey reminds us that the one true court is only God’s. or by listening to whispers that carry messages about finding purpose, arguably human being’s most extraordinary quest.

How she found herself in the embrace of the late and great Alice Coltrane is one important part of the story.

It was Alice who presented her with the harp and the rest is music history. How Radha came to discover and mature her creativity is the lore of warriors. She created a musical sphere all her own. She unfolded as an artist and musician guided by grief and grace.

In her case, the letter G is not for gratuitous because her melodic harp pluck comes from the Gods of Soldanela Rivera López benevolence and mercy.

Director of Presidential and Strategic Initiatives The mysteries of the unseen realm manifest themselves in all of Botofasina’s music. She is a David, a warrior of the courts of men and women who are called from the heavens to play and help us to be calm, surrender our inner furies, and enter a space of self-acceptance.

Since 2009 Soldanela has served Hostos in various capacities—Adjunct Professor of Public Speaking, Director of Communications and College Relations, 50th Anniversary Project Manager, and presently serves as Director of Presidential Strategic Initiatives.

Prior to Hostos, Soldanela spent over 10 years as a communications executive and producer spanning the fields of dance, film, television, music, theater working with emerging, established, and worldrenowned figures. Soldanela produces Notes From A Native Daughter, an audio blog about arts, culture, and society with figures from the Pan-American experience, she self-published “View For Death” and was named a Mujer Destacada by El Diario La Prensa in 2018; Sol was recently selected a 2020 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Leadership Fellow. Soldanela earned a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in dance and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in Arts Administration.

Equally masterful is her voice. I bend in particular to her albums “Ambient Harp Meditation Music” and “The Spirituals.” Listen to “Calvary,” “Here’s One,” “Swing Low,” Botofasina’s clear, harmonious, and amply flexible vocal cords bring you in to her sincere guttural foundation, so forgiving of a world gone awry it makes you cry.

The “Ambient Harp Mediation Music” album is enough to carry you through her sway in a court filled with cacophonous impostors of faith. Softness and strength might not intuitively go together, and yet “Kindred Spirits, “Keshava’s Lullaby,” and “School of Dolphins” remind you of the truth that the spirit world is more powerful than the mightiest of might.

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M

MARIEA ANTOINETTE

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Mariea Antoinette by Terri Fowler In one instance, an attraction was formed and the harp became the means for self-expression and amazement.

That bond occurred many years ago for the classically trained, jazz, funk harpist, Mariea Antoinette.

Mariea is a masterful muse with a holistic approach to music and life, in general, and she gravitates to all things organic. This trend is reflected in her musical evolution from the classics to remakes of blues, pop, and R&B hits. She credits one of her teachers, Elena Maskovtseva, with her ease with complex instrumental interpretation and skill. But she recalls her attraction to the harp was accelerating from that first encounter “it made the hairs on my arms stand up,” she added.

Her craft was sharpened by years of undergraduate work at universities in San Diego, her hometown, and nearby Arizona that offered master’s classes in harp performance. These classroom experiences translated into real-time application of this artform when she Other accomplishments have placed her squarely on became the principal harpist at the Walt Disney the national stage with historic figures and legendary Concert Hall in Los Angeles with the Southeast artists. “Another milestone for me was hearing my Symphony Orchestra in 2007. music for the first time on the radio, then being asked Her journey led to further ventures into the world to play on the live radio broadcast, On-Air Radio, for of entertainment as a fixture with the all-girl, an hour with it reaching across the country.” Her hard internationally-known jazz ensemble, Jazz in Pink. work paid off. Her discography of three CD’s is with She plays along with the bands core members, Gail her publishing company at BMI. The titles are “Sexy Jhonson, Alethea Rene’, and Karen Briggs. Together, Paradise”, “Straight from the Harp” and her latest, “All they create fusions of traditional classic tunes and My Strings” that features her releases “That Thing”, a modern complications. This fiercely unapologetic cover of the Lauryn Hill hit and “Loving You”, a Minnie group of musicians deliver a cocktail of genres from Ripperton classic, accompanied by the Fattburger jazz with touches of symphonic rock, soul, and hip- band. hop undertones during their performances. Those liberating experiences ignited a spark in this musical chameleon. As a solo artist and at the urging of her fellow band members, Mariea tests the limits of the harp beyond its traditional realm.

Mariea draws inspiration for compositions from various sources in nature and insists that her attention to good health, nutrition, and spiritual awareness are central to her musical success. An average day for this early-riser might include a morning jog on the beach She spread her creative wings and launched into or a walking path, followed by a smoothie of fruits, original works of art, combined with innovative covers super greens, and chia seeds, while seated in a remote that show her prowess as a genre-bending musician. area on a nearby rock or outlook, while most of the For Mariea, the biggest thrill and surprise of her world is emerging from bed for work. career occurred when she recorded her first album She is socially astute and an avid reader. Mariea with producer Carl Evans, Jr., Musical Director of balanced life fuels and sustains her outlook on life, Fattburger, the national jazz fusion band. “It was an music, and creativity. Mariea has benefitted from sage exciting game-changer to have the skill set to come advice from veteran entertainers to “be prepared to into the studio and put down my harp arrangements work hard, practice excellence, and have the highest and improvise, after watching Hollis Gentry and many integrity and moral standard in all that you do.”

A-list musicians record,” she said. (con’t on page 63)

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D

DESTINY MUHAMMAD

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Destiny Muhammad by Gail Jhonson

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco, CA

gossiping. Be Unapologetically GRATEFUL. What music project are you working on?

I just completed two projects with Grace Cathedral in San Francisco: Yoga for Change and Soulful JOY, a Christmas Concert, and a pre-recording at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco with my Trio. We had a very short breather, then three overdub sessions, and a commission from a museum.

How has the pandemic affected you and your musical expression?

I feel like the Pandemic has pushed me to expand my musical expression and opportunities- I have had to learn how to video myself playing music for worship services; edit and upload to churches and sacred spaces. I’m also curating content for a variety of Spiritual Services with my iPhone, a Sony camera, and editing with Adobe software. Additionally, I’m expanding the possibilities of music placement, and keeping a virtual library of videos.

Who’s in your playlist?

Robert Glasper, Dorothy Ashby, Alice & John Coltrane, Vince Guaraldi, Beyoncé, and Donny Hathaway.

What are your goals and objectives for 2021?

My goals for the 1st quarter of 2021: Successful completion recording and livestream of a commission.

I received on Quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins, score Jazz Anthology about the Pandemic and a collaboration with an arranger.

Anything you want to share with the world, what legacy will you leave?

I am Unapologetically GRATEFUL!

How did you come to music as a child? Did you study music theory?

I sang as a child, and as a teenager in high school groups. I didn’t really begin studying music and theory until I hit my mid/late 30’s. For me, the music language (theory), is a life long study.

Do you compose music? If so, how many songs have you composed?

I probably have about 30 compositions. Some full works that I play in my set and some sonic sketches I work on.

Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? Yes, my publishing company is: Harpist from the Hood, registered with ASCAP. Are you aware of the challenges women face in the maledominated music industry?

Yes. Women, submit to your craft. Make prayer your foundation for EVERYTHING you do. Set goals and standards for yourself - have a clear vision of who you desire to be walk as that now! Learn as much as you can about the business (I am still learning). Study greatness & excellence - great musicians, artists, people. Work with the best musicians possible learn from what they do - imitate their excellence.

What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of music?

Be generous and apply wisdom with your generosity.

Forgive wisely. Keep your word. Be kind however be firm when necessary. Take care of your mind, feed it good music and good ideas. Eat salad and drink plenty of water. Listen to learn, not to respond. Stop

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Musicwoman Magazine 2021 contributor, Gail Jhonson Gail Jhonson is a pianist, vocalist, musical director, composer, educator, and author. She has journeyed through an extensive career in the music industry.

She hails from Philadelphia, is a Berklee College of Music alumni, and a SNHU/Berklee Master of Music Business. Her national break was in Los Angeles with Morris Day of The Time. She relocated to California to teach at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute. She plays several genres and loves theatre. She was the resident music director of The Common Ground Theatre in San Diego. Gail has 7 CD’s penned, a nod in the 51st Grammys, and a recording artist with Shanachie Entertainment. She earned several awards, including Black Women in Jazz. Her band of 12+ years is Jazz in Pink. She is a member of NARAS and volunteers at Hands4Hope, a free after school program. As a musician, this is the short list of those she has worked

with: Brenda Russell, Jermaine Jackson, Pink, Norman Brown, Patti Austin, Jeff Lorber, Bobby Womack, and Jonathan Butler.

Gail has authored method books published by Hal Leonard, including: Funk Keyboards, Dictionary of Keyboard Grooves, Jazzy Keyboards, and Write On Manuscript Papers.

Features by Gail Jhonson Destiny Muhammad Karen Briggs Robin Bramlett

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Gail Jhonson www.gailjhonson.com ~ www.jazzinpink.com

New Releases from WIJSF Members THE MUSIC IS OUT! BE THE FIRST TO GET IT!!

Available on all major platforms.

Str aight From The Heart

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K

KAREN BRIGGS

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Karen Briggs by Gail Jhonson GJ: How did you come to music as a child?

KB: I grew up with music. My father played saxophone. Mom was a gospel and spiritual singer. My grandfather, our next-door neighbor, was a trumpet player, keyboardist, and pastor of our family church.

I listened to all of the recordings brought home by my older brother and sister. Aunts Christine and Doris were organists. Music was in the house like wallpaper, inconspicuously pouring into my subconsciousness.

Family jam sessions in the house weren’t uncommon.

My competency for music was determined by a music aptitude exam distributed throughout schools in the state of Virginia, when I was in 5th grade. I was one of two children in our state who got all of the answers correct on this test.

GJ: Did you study music theory?

KB: It came with the territory of learning violin. I took some courses in college.

GJ: Do you compose music? If so, how many songs have you composed?

KB: I don’t know. But I’d go broke trying to properly release all of them.

GJ: Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? KB: Yes. ASCAP. GJ: Are you aware of the challenges women face in the male-dominated music industry?

KB: The challenges that face women in the male dominated world are pretty universal. But I usually work well with guys musically.

GJ: What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of music?

KB: Know that this unconventional lifestyle is not for everybody. Although it’s doable, most of my sister friends in the music industry have no children. You can’t just get up and go on the road like your colleague fathers and leave your child with their mother and childcare is high.

GJ: What music project are you working on?

KB: I am always working on projects, my own and with others that are truer to my own sense of musicality.

Some are videos, arrangements, compositions, and a new band. I am building my social media following.

My website is www.karenbriggsviolin.com GJ: How has the pandemic affected you and your musical expression?

KB: I have good days with it and bad. Some days, I just resent it. My introspective self gets too much time to analyze. Being a musician takes you out of the mundane life and makes it easier not to dwell on bullshit. But when you have the eventual downtime, it can all come up in your thought processes in an overwhelming way, causing anxiety. You can only hope that it inspires you.

GJ: Who’s in your playlist?

KB: Too many to name. I listen to as much music as possible and from various cultures and parts of the world. There’s so much music out there.

GJ: What are your goals and objectives for 2021?

KB: To re-invent myself as a musician, perform live concerts again in the USA, Africa, and the Middle East, but more under my own name. I want to buy a nice home for me and my girls.

GJ: Anything you want to share with the world about the legacy will you leave?

KB: I appreciate the loyal fans and audiences who have hung in there with me through the decades and various schools of music that I have had opportunity to be a part of. I have enjoyed performing for the people everywhere I’ve been. It gives me life when they like it. I appreciate all the schools of music I attended, inherent with all of the musicians I have had synergy with. I appreciate the various platforms that I have been able to appear on.

I will leave a legacy that covered international ground as a boutique violinist. I made music history, while At times, you will need a loyal representative whom raising two beautiful daughters. I am a parent in an you trust and have chemistry with. That is not easy oftentimes horrendous industry, in a world populated to find. Otherwise, you will have to fight all your own with users and shysters. I hope that one day the USA battles, which can be a drain or a compromise of the will employ a Minister of Culture in some office of lady that you want to be, just to earn your respect. power who can look out for artists and musicians. I More important is that you play and develop what you hope that I have contributed to establishing a sense do and don’t just be a cute girl playing bullshit. Have of cultural pride. I feel like I opened a door of hope if real integrity about your presentation. there is anyone that took up music or violin because of my work.

God is Good!

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ANNIKA TÖRNQVIST

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Annika Törnqvist by Biggi Vinkeloe I met Annika a few years ago, when she invited me to join Amazonas, a quartet with two saxophones, drums, and bass. We recorded Deep Talk and a video Snake, released on SODAmusic. Our second project is NAB trio with Nema Vinkeloe Uuskyla, vocalist and violinist. We collaborated with Indian musicians on the album Setuvegalu and with a famous Kurd poet from North Iraq. Annika has a distinctive and beautiful approach to music. Her bass lines support and open up the music at the same time. She performs with rock bands, funk bands, or on tours with pop stars and jazz musicians.

I worked with other bands. I chose live performance rather than studying music at a school. My family did not encourage me or support me because they knew nothing about the music profession and did not understand what music meant to me. At 30, I wanted to learn music theory, so I took classes at several universities in Sweden.

Do you compose music?

If so, how many songs have you composed?

I composed many songs and registered 50 with STIM, the Swedish BMI. I am an improviser who composes in the moment.

How did you come to music as a child?

Did you study music theory?

I do not come from a family of musicians. We had a piano at home but nobody played it. My parents played records on the gramophone a few of times a year. Rarely, did I have the opportunity to listen to any music.

Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? My record company is SODAmusic. We release the music of friends, too. It is frustrating to find the right partner or label. When the music is ready, I want to get it out on a record or digitally as soon as possible.

It does not matter so much to me how many people end up listening to the music. It is important that I feel good about the project.

When I was five, my grandmother showed me how to play a song on the piano. I loved it and I wanted to learn more, so my parents found a piano teacher for me in the neighborhood. He came weekly for a lesson, until I was 13. I enjoyed playing classical music

by Bach though it was difficult. My practice time was limited because I was a figure skater and I had to study for school.

Are you aware of the challenges woman face in the maledominated field of music?

Yes, I am very aware of the challenges that women face in the music industry. Women get fewer jobs because they are not considered as real musicians but as objects. Women’s skills are underestimated, while male musicians expose women to sexism and objectification. When a musician falls in love with a woman musician, it is hard for him to accept rejection.

I lost bookings with organizers when I divorced my first husband. The organizers did not want any conflict with my ex-husband, so they cancelled my gigs.

I went to high school at 14. My friends and I started a band and performed at the Masthugget Youth Center in Gothenburg. At first, I played the electric guitar. I was not that good but it was fun. We made up songs and structures by ear and performed in a playful way. Sometimes, a senior student taught us songs.

Some members did not stay. Eventually, we were four This happened a long time ago, but I will never forget that. Now, I live in an equal and supportive females performing together. relationship with a musician. But I still feel the strong I picked up the electric bass when our bassist could not expectation of society that I should prioritize my life come. We had a gig on the first day I played the bass. as a wife and mother. I feel incredibly challenged, This was the beginning for me. The gig went well, but trapped, and entangled in other people’s expectations some older musicians in the audience noticed that I of how I should live my life. played with my thumb and showed me how to play with the correct technique. I learned most things that I was invited to join the boards of music organizations way, by listening, playing, and talking to experienced not based on my skills but on my gender. I accepted and learned a lot. I am a competent musician with musicians. more experience than the men around me.

This quartet preformed until I was in my twenties.

We got record contracts and toured in Sweden and What advice do you have for younger women entering the (con’t on page 65) other European countries. When the band split up, world of music performance?

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KJ DENHERT

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KJ Denhert by Joan Cartwright JC: How did you come to music as a child? Did you study music theory?

KJD: I loved music and when I was allowed to use the record player around 4 years old, I became obsessed with the flip side of the Chipmunks’ Christmas Don’t be Late, a swinging song by Dave Seville entitled Almost Good. I would play it over and over and dance.

In the 5th grade, a teacher died, and finally, I couldn’t take not having an instrument. I tuned my brother’s discarded guitar with only 4 strings to an open chord.

I described it as making them go together. I was able to write a song by moving my finger around on one or two strings. I had my own band by the end of high school and got a standing ovation at Gurdy’s Folk City in New York City in 1975, playing original music. I could say that I was hooked then.

days ago and frankly could not believe it!

JC: Are you aware of the challenges women face in the male-dominated music industry?

Yes, I am aware. Two of my earliest projects were with all-female bands. I toured for 7 years that I refer to as my seven years in spandex. I was very fortunate to have traveled the world for the USO and independently with a production deal that had me living outside of Frankfurt for several exciting months.

I am self-taught and can speak to what I am playing and why. I don’t read well and I am working on that once more with the new-found relationship with time created by the COVID-19 lock down.

JC: What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of music?

After the Chipmunks’ flip side, my heroes were KJD: Do music if you love it and never lose that. songwriters Glen Campbell, James Taylor, Joni Business is business and the music business can Mitchell, and Carol King. I loved the Jackson Five. I involve an acceptance of some cold and heartless was born the same year as Michael Jackson, Prince, realities. Sometimes, the gigs that paid the most are and Madonna. Steely Dan’s music truly moved me the most soul-crushing and make it feel like you have and the Police. no value. Use the employee stairs. Eat the employee meals. There is a difference between commercial music I toured playing pop music in the 1980’s, and that was and music for art’s sake. They are hard to distinguish, a broad education in composition. sometimes, and spoken about interchangeably, when they are completely different goals. Who knows JC: Do you compose music? If so, how many songs have what will happen to the industry when live music is you composed? inaccessible?

KJD: I have released over 100 songs. Original tunes are probably in the 70%. I have some popular covers. Everyone from Sting to Billie Eilish is going to be My cover of Help has a lot of organic views. I wrote needing a gig. The market will be saturated with music because there were things I wanted to hear. It live streams saturating social media. If you’re going is the thing that sent me back into the studio over and commercial, Broadway, or megapop, like everything over. else in life, be impeccable with your word, timing, be on time, be flexible, and be able to take constructive or I had to let go of a lot of perfectionist ideals to begin personal criticism, gracefully. Double that, if you want making my own records at age 35. I had failed record to create art that survives you. deals and seven years on the road, before I arrived at the place I am, today.

KJ Denhert JC: Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or O: 914.941.2124 | M: 914.439.1341 www.kjdenhert.com BMI? “High energy funk and R&B with jazz sensibility.” ~ KJD: My publishing company Denhert-a Bit Music The New York Times is registered with SESAC. I got a check for $80 a few “Fun Stuff. Gorgeous voice.” ~ All About Jazz

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ROBIN BRAMLETT

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Robin Bramlett by Gail Jhonson by mid-2021.

How has the pandemic affected you and your musical expression?

This pandemic has forced me to slow down which has allowed me the mental space to work on new music and sharpen my production skills.

Who’s in your playlist?

My playlist varies depending on my mood. Lately, I’ve been listening to the singer Lucky Daye, Nipsey Hussle, Busta Rhymes, J. Cole, Ricky Dillard, James Hall, Four80East, and way too many other jazz, R&B, gospel, and funk artists to name.

What are your goals and objectives for 2021?

I plan to release my upcoming project by the summer When I began playing professionally, in church, I of 2021. I hope this pandemic is over by then so I can was reminded about how much I don’t know about hit the road to promote it. music. I took a few music theory classes at Bakersfield Anything you want to share with the world, what legacy College, under the instruction of Dean Sample and will you leave?

John Gerhold, the teacher who helped me take my I have always been that person to work hard and music theory knowledge to a level I did not know perfect anything before presenting it to the world. existed.

When I am long gone, I want to leave that legacy for Do you compose music? If so, how many songs have you the next generation of female musicians to come after composed? me.

Yes. I began composing music when I was 13 years old.

I have written a whole lot of songs. Too many to count.

Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? Yes. I have a publishing company Basseroni Music with BMI. Are you aware of the challenges women face in the maledominated music industry?

Yes. I’m very aware, as I have been met with a few of those challenges. One being the perception that just because you are a woman you can’t play an instrument or can’t play it very well. There have been countless times where men would see me holding my bass and thought I was holding it for my husband!

What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of music?

Consistently practice your craft so you can gain the confidence to aggressively fight the perception of you being less of a musician because of your gender.

However, keep in mind that not all men perceive female musicians in this way. Many men are supportive of female musicians. So, while you are going out there with your confidence, don’t lose your manners in the process. Always have a positive attitude.

What music project are you working on?

I’m working on my first recording project since my 2013 release This Is My Life. I hope to have it finished Poster Art by Amy Durant How did you come to music as a child? Did you study music theory?

My parents purchased instruments for me as a child.

I had an electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and a toy drum set. There was an upright piano in the house that I practiced on, before getting the instruments. Once I got them, the strings on the electric guitar broke from my refusal to play with a pick and the heads on the toy drum set broke from me playing too hard! With my 4-string P-Bass copy being the only one standing, it just felt natural to stick with it. I was attracted to the bass frequency from paying close attention to the bass voices at the church I attended.

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ANA POPOVIĆ

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Ana Popović by Katarina Gradimir Lazarević Nowadays, it’s easier to achieve things with a help of social media, especially, if you do live in the USA. However, for certain genres of music like the blues that is an American form of music, it helps being in the USA. You are present for concerts, recordings, and other projects. It is such a competitive scene with plenty of great bands. You need to make yourself available for that particular market.

I believe that is it great personal and professional satisfaction when your work is recognised by such legends as BB King, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Gibbons. You were playing with lots of musical legends. What was the most exciting moment on the stage for you?

There were so many, I loved the Experience Hendrix tour, playing alongside legends, such as Buddy Guy, Billy Cox, Eric Johnson, and Zakk Wylde. 20+ guitar players and only one woman on stage!

How can we describe musical beginnings of Ana Popović?

Did you have a lot of wandering?

I grew up in Belgrade, Serbia, and was drawn to blues at an early age, thanks to my father and his record collection. Weekly jam sessions with his friends at our home made me fall in love with guitar and I started playing when I was about 12 years old. Right then I was determined to learn to play. I wanted to be able to take part in jam sessions, to have a band and a gig.

I wanted to play for the audience and to work on my own recognizable style of blues.

How do you find inspiration for composing and writing music? How many songs have you composed? How do you make balance between guitar virtuosity, lyrics, and vocal interpretation?

Lots of times, my songs start with a musical part. If I hear a bass line that’s inspiring, I can write to it. If I hear a certain groove that simply excites me, I’ll be putting down some lyrics to fit it. A cool sentence that I hear someplace can initiate a song or a thematic that I feel passionate about. The nice thing about song writing is that there’s no formula. It comes and you need to catch it.

Playing the music of Jimi Hendrix is as exciting and as inspiring as ever. His music is still vibrant and captivating, and it lives on through generations.

In 2020, you are celebrating 20 years as a touring musician, award-winning guitar player, singer, and songwriter.

What award is the most important for you and why?

Awards and nominations are important. But most rewarding for me is my fanbase that’s been with me my entire career and still come out, eagerly awaiting new music. That’s my biggest motivation.

Are you aware of the challenges woman face in the maledominated music industry?

Yes, and luckily guitar is rapidly becoming a ‘female’ instrument, as more and more girls are drawn to it and every each one of them brings something new and refreshing to the table. It’s wonderful to see that change. But, just as any other male-dominated line of work, we’ve got miles to go. It’s about everyone else around us accepting the new change and embracing it, and encouraging their female colleagues, wives, and sisters to pursue their dream job, no matter if it used to be a ‘male job’.

What advice do you have for younger women entering the world of music performance?

Don’t be afraid to be different and bring something new to the table. There’s an audience for anything that has quality. The more surprising and unusual you are, the better. You will have more chances to leave your print in such a competitive line of work as the music business. (con’t on page 66)

Some songs I write in a day and some songs take a few years to write. I keep coming back to the unfinished songs and keep tweaking them until they’re ready. I almost never give up on a song. If it’s a thought worth singing about, there are different ways to make it work.

Balance is really dictated by a song. Some songs need very few guitar licks, some need to stay open, some need heavy guitar parts, and some songs ask for a guitar show-off. I always put guitar in the service of a song.

When we analyse your discography, can we say that each album describes different phases of your musical growth and inspiration?

Absolutely! Each album has a strong message and is made as a result of something I was inspired by at the time, aware of, and willing to write and sing about.

With every record, I am more present as a songwriter and performer. I ask more from myself and try to outdo my previous performances. Most of all, I want to give my fans a new side of me, musically, lyrically, and as a guitar player. I have a message that might inspire them, or make them think about the subject.

Is it hard to stay true to yourself in the commercial musical business? Is it important to be in America if you want to make success?

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ARIANE CAP

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Lessons in Quarantine by Ariane Cap When public life wound down abruptly, in March 2020, many professions had the rug pulled out from underneath them. Arguably, one of the groups hit hardest by the shut downs and stay-at-home orders were live performers, such as musicians. The weekly hotel gig was cancelled. The three-week tour in summer was removed from the schedule. Jazz on Thursday was called off until further notice. Shows closed. Studio dates were zapped. NAMM Show was not this year! CD release parties were obliterated.

not sounding like a human voice such as a low bass or a ticking metronome, Zoom wants to be “helpful “and suppress it and instead of hearing your student, you hear silence. Toggling the in-meeting option to enable original sound (reading “off” in the meeting screen means it is toggled on) will eliminate this issue.

Disabling persistent or intermittent background noise will improve the audio quality, also. Ask your students to use a computer, not an iPad or tablet, and wear headphones.

Full-time musicians saw their busy calendars empty and income they were relied on did not materialize.

I was hit with panic and disappointment as several performances and in-person teaching opportunities were not going to happen. However, I knew I would be fine since I have been in the online teaching space since 2015. I sprang into action to help my friends who were not established as online educators. Here are a few of the tips I gave them to get them started.

If you want to give your students that amazing wow factor and have great instrument-oriented audio right out of the box, I recommend the amazing teaching platform Doozzoo. Besides having optimized audio, you have control over a metronome and tuner, and you can upload teaching materials straight into the platform to be in control of the student’s experience.

The easiest platform to use is Zoom. It is preferred because it is user-friendly, free for your students, and offers a few sound options that are quite helpful for our purposes. In particular, Zoom offers the option to enable original sound in the advanced audio settings.

You tick the box that says, “Show in-meeting option to ‘Enable Original Sound’ from microphone”.

Online teaching is different in many ways compared to the in-person experience. First, I teach eight or nine full-hour in-person lessons in a row and feel fresh and energized until the last one. However, I am exhausted after teaching four lessons online. It can be having to project more through the interfaces, having to interrupt to ask for a microphone or camera adjustments, or dealing with internet glitches.

Fly in audio tracks, slow them down on the fly, transpose them, and show the chart. All of that happens within Getting Started the Doozzoo window which makes for a cohesive and Whether out of passion or necessity, many musicians direct teaching experience without the need to leave teach. Some teach all levels at school or church. Others the window, grab and download an audio file, open are known for their particular sound, style of playing, it somewhere, and lose the Zoom window. Doozzoo or technique and they bare sought by fans wanting to delivers in terms of sound and user experience! learn from their heroes. In-person lessons are gone for the time being. So, using tools like Skype or Zoom As for cameras, a simple Logitech camera will do. You is a sensible next step. The first question I typically can get inexpensive lights on Amazon. If you are a get when consulting musicians on how to take their pianist or your instrument requires a full body view, it teaching online is what platform to use. can be helpful to mount a camera above you or at an angle to give the student a view of your hand. Multiple The Technology cameras can be switched with one click.

My advice to teachers looking to migrate to online education is to not let the tech get in the way. Don’t Mindset of an Online Teacher wait until you have found the perfect microphone, With the tech out of the way, let me address the one multi-camera angle set up, and ability to stream audio thing that can make or break your online success from your DAW. Just start.

The mindset of the teacher.

Zoom’s audio wizardry is geared towards optimizing speech. If you play an instrument that is definitely

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(con’t on page 70)

Marketing and The Pandemic by Mimi Johnson

M

As we are now in the year 2021, the norm is social distancing. In marketing, you are always distant anyway. So, as for the impact of the worldwide pandemic, the marketing business has still and will continue to thrive on a huge scale.

the pandemic to become one of the largest and fastest-growing businesses on the planet.

In a world where things are always changing, we must be wide open to change. Sometimes, we must unlearn to relearn. This is most definitely key Most businesses are catering and positioning to technology for future businesses to thrive in themselves to become more profitable in cyberspace. marketing and advertising.

This gives the opportunity to readjust the businesses that are hands-on to create other possibilities for Mimi Johnson, National President sales. Looking into the future, technology will be Women In Jazz South Florida, Inc./GLOBAL growing at a faster pace, every year, and businesses will need to learn how to adjust and readjust. www.wijsf.com www.musicwoman.org Visual digital marketing and advertising is a platform MimiJohnson.wijsf@gmail.com that is utilized for people to be programmed in 404-974-5744 order to purchase and continue to be consumers. It is not a new platform, however, it has grown since

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www.WomenAtWorkTour.com

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Remembering by Radha Botofasina

I sang background for the first time on stage with Dr. John (Malcolm John Rebennack a/k/a Mac). The venue was in New Jersey, where he had two backup singers and one was not available. Charles Neville, a friend from New Orleans took me up to Mac's room at the Mayflower hotel in New York City. I sang a few notes and Mac invited me to sing on the gig that night. Once we arrived at the gig, his road manager pulled a trunk into the middle of the green room and told us to find something to accessorize our outfits. I choose an ostrich feather boa that hung down to my knees. The music was pretty simple, everything was going fine, until there was a big Kaboom! sound on stage. I turned around and the percussionist had passed out on stage, completely drunk. I kept on singing, when Dr. John, sang his hit song Right Place Wrong Time. My ears went crazy.

I couldn't stand to hear his voice that sounded like gravel poured over asphalt. After the gig, Dr. John offered me the job, next day we would be in Canada, but I turned him down because I had dreamt this whole experience a year before and the dream ended with me saying "I hate his voice!"

Exit Carefully by Dr Diva Joan Cartwright

I missed the last train to Cuneo from Torino, Italy, in the first week of December of 1990. It was 11:30 p.m., as I watched the regional train leave the station without me on it.

At first, I panicked. Then, I rationed that I needed a hotel room, since it was snowing. I walked out of the train station through the nearest exit and across the street was the Turin Palace Hotel. I scurried across the snow-laden street with my suitcase and entered the hotel lobby. The reservationist arranged a room for me and I was in a hot tub by midnight. I called my BFF with the phone on the wall with a lengthy cord.

We giggled about my missed train and the luxurious suite I found myself in. But it was chilly and I never figured out how to turn the heat up. Early the next morning, I called my pianist Angel Unia to tell him I was in Torino.

He asked me where I was. When I told him the Turin Palace, he yelled, “Joan, what are you doing there?

Are you crazy?” The room was $260 a night! I said, “Do we have some gigs?” He said, “Yes.”I said, “Well, just come and get me, and bring my money!” Angelo scowled and said he would be there within an hour.

Compare this with the day I arrived in Munich, Germany, in 1993. I looked around for a hotel near the train station. The one I chose shall forever go unnamed. It was filthy. I left my bag there when I went to Club Allotria to see Freddie Hubbard perform. That was the magical night I learned that my song, Sweet Return, was in his song book.

Instead of spending the night in that nasty hotel that cost me $80, I collected my suitcase and went to the train station where I slept on the floor with skinheads until time to board my train.

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The moral of this story is be careful which exit you take at the train station. Your choice of hotels may depend on it!

FLIGHT 697 NOW BOARDING by Gayelynn McKinney

When Straight Ahead got signed to Atlantic Records, we started touring. At that time, Marion (our bassist) had a job for the state of Michigan as an entomologist. When the touring started, Marion had to call into work so that she could go on the road. That is when the comedy began. One day she was trying to call into her job for a sick day and while she was talking, she was doing her fake coughing. She was trying to sound as if she had a cold.

While talking to her job on the phone and doing her fake coughing, the airline announcer says: “FLIGHT 697 NOW BOARDING!” It was very loud so, needless to say, we were all trying to contain our laughter.

Seeing Red Before My Massage

by Jus’Cynthia I woke up in Bangkok, Thailand, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with the desire for a Thai massage. I took the Skytrain to Chong Nonsi station close to Health Land. I like the Skytrain because it’s faster, cooler, has no traffic jams, and it has better air for breathing. Walking up and down the steep stairs provided me with some exercise.

Only half a block away were the sound of horns, music, and cheering in the air. I knew it was the RedShirts, the group of demonstrators I had been warned to avoid. This was the beginning of the protest, which was peaceful. I walked up 45 steps at Chong Nonsi station to get a better view. People were on the overpass taking pictures. I joined them. Ignoring the caution, I captured the moment on camera.

I didn’t know the details of this political maneuver. It looked like a parade of a lot of happy people wearing red, waving, cheering, dancing to music, and smiling When she got off the phone Marion and the rest of us in the hot sun. Unbeknownst to me, this merriment laughed all the way to the gate. would turn into tears, injuries, deaths, vandalism, A few months after that phone call, she ended up looting, and a heavy economic blow to Thailand’s quitting her job for the state of Michigan and became tourism. a full-time musician.

I was looking forward to my massage, so, it didn’t take me long to walk three blocks. The glass doors opened to a cool, soothing reception area with comfortable sofas and love seats. I was greeted with a smile, a bow and a “May I help you.”

I ordered a one-hour Thai massage for 600 baht ($20). My wait was about 10 minutes but it was worth the wait. My therapist escorted me up two flights of smooth, wooden stairs to my room of nirvana.

After a blissful hour, we descended the stairs and returned to the waiting area where I was given my shoes and a cup of warm herbal tea. I felt rested and revived. On the way back to the hotel, instead of seeing red, I saw blue and white because I was floating on cloud nine.

I felt grrrrrreat! My next stop was the MBK Mall for a make-over photo shoot. Amazing!

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Think of your favorite songs that evoke memories of events, feelings, or people you love.

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Lydia Harris

Health Corner: On That Note by Lydia Harris Your ability to cope with stress is dictated by your psychological and emotional health. This aspect of wellness influences how well you take care of yourself, your ability to be productive and accomplish your dreams, how well you contribute to society, and your overall ability to realize your potential in life. Without strong mental health, it is exceedingly difficult to succeed in other parts of your life.

Harmonizing Your Mental and Emotional Wellbeing to Beat the Pandemic Blues May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an opportunity for us to reflect on the effects COVID-19 has had on our mental health and well-being. Though we are familiar with the impact it had on us, during 2020, there are lingering effects that warrant our attention.

When your mental health is weak, you can have psychological or emotional problems that interfere with your ability to live happily and healthily. Mental health problems and illnesses affect your behavior, how you think, and how you feel. Disorders like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder can make it difficult to function or lead a productive life.

If you want to take care of your body, then you eat right, exercise, visit the doctor regularly, pay attention to signals that indicate wellness, and engage in healthy habits that support your overall well-being. But, if you want to take care of your mind or your emotions, what should you do? As it turns out, you should do the same things that you do for other parts of your health.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reported that 1 in 5 Americans suffered from mental illness in 2019. The best treatments are those that combine conventional therapies with healthy changes to lifestyle that focus on overall wellness habits. In addition to medications and psychological treatment, Your mental health plays a significant role in your there are many habits, techniques, and strategies you physical well-being and researchers have documented can use to boost your emotional well-being. this effect in many ways. When you care for your body, Your body reacts to and is influenced by how you feel you also are helping to care for your mind. and think in the same way your emotions and mental Your mental health encompasses your social, state are affected by how you physically feel. The psychological, and emotional wellness. Mental health mind-body connection has been documented and influences how you feel, think, and act throughout explored consistently over the past several decades. your life, while determining how you relate to others, There is definitive evidence that your emotional and cope with setbacks, and make choices that can change mental states are connected to your physical health in your life. Your mental health is a critical part of your many ways. overall wellness at all stages of your life.

Those who suffer from mental or emotional health Emotional health is what allows you to cope with problems are more likely to suffer from some form of stress, handle problems as they arise, and maintain chronic disease because they are less likely to engage healthy relationships in your life. You may not have in healthy habits and behaviors. the most robust emotional health every single day of Anything that disrupts this balance interferes with your life. People who are emotionally healthy have a your well-being. Being stressed, tired, or dissatisfied positive outlook and bounce back quickly and easily, makes you as unwell as eating poorly, being overweight, when they experience unwanted, stressful, or adverse or lacking strength and flexibility. circumstances in their lives.

Wellness begins by determining what would bring (con’t on page 43) Your mental wellbeing is important for many reasons.

Taking care of your mind and your emotional wellbeing is an essential part of safeguarding your overall wellness. Your psychological fitness is just as necessary as your physical health and, when you take care of one of these, you help to take care of the other.

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In Memorium

NICKI MATHIS, artist, musician, singer, bandleader, producer, promoter, presenter, poet, writer, songwriter, was born in El Paso, TX, in 1936. She resided in Hartford, CT. Nick began singing in the tri-state area with the Emery Austin Smith and Norman Gage bands. She formed her own Afrikan Amerikan Jazz band in the 1980s, with Jim Argiro, Paul Brown, Jr.Ortiz, Emmitt Spencer, and Lenzy Wallace Jr. She began producing The Many Colors of a W*O*M*A*N Jazz Festivals, showcasing jazzwomen and their contributions to African American’s indigenous creative art form, jazz. Nicki received rave reviews, performing with Norman Johnson and Jr Ortiz for the Martin Luther King. Jr celebration at Yale Peabody Museum of National History. She and Norman celebrated last autumn at Windsor Art Center.

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Health Corner: On That Note

by Lydia Harris (con’t)

(con’t from page 41) you contentment and balance, then engaging in actions and habits that will make those come true.

Wellness requires that you actively solve your own problems and address your health issues rather than just waiting for a doctor or someone else to tell you what to do. Your wellbeing depends on how well you advocating for your personal needs, how proactive you are about preventing problems, and how you take charge of your health.

Those with genuine wellbeing feel content, energized, connected, and balanced. They are contented with the way things are in their lives and they have balance between their mind, body, and spirit. Wellbeing comes from within you. It is unique for every person who pursues it.

Be aware of your current status, what you need, and where the imbalances in your life are. Learn to listen to your body and your mind, notice what is happening, and identify steps to help you achieve your goals. Safeguard your mental health to protect your thinking, reasoning, productivity, emotional stability, and relationships.

Your mental health is crucial to achieving your goals, realizing your dreams, and being happy in this life.

Adopt positive self-care routines including some of the strategies below that can help you relieve stress, improve your outlook, and reduce physical symptoms like high blood pressure and gastrointestinal distress.

Musicians provide the world with music that has the power to transcend, transform and track our lives.

During the pandemic, life as we knew it changed. We depend on musicians to keep the sounds of harmony, joy, peace, and activity flowing to and through the world. Thank you for all that you are doing to help our global citizens and communities weather the storm.

Please be well, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

And if you need help, please ask for it.

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Become more mindful Express feelings appropriately Create a strong support system Quit your bad habits Reduce your stress Get plenty of quality sleep Give yourself a break Keep a journal Spend time outside Find/align with your purpose Think Positively Give to others in need Practice gratitude Take care of loved ones Find a hobby Become more resilient Accept yourself Practice deep breathing daily Learn to forgive Seek the right medical care Be active; exercise 150 min. per week Eat a healthy diet Engage in mind and body calming activities Seek balance in your life Look for ways to learn from loss Get feedback from others Limit social media use and the news!

Let go of unhealthy relationships Laugh often Become a pet owner Spend time with friends Quit multitasking Learn to be assertive Don’t dwell in/on the past Build your self-esteem Focus on a growth mindset See your doctor regularly Drink more waterLet go of guilt Believe in something Work on your posture Focus on goals Build your strengths Be happy for others Learn new things Change your negative self-talk Learn to name your emotions Look for self-sabotaging behaviors Know your strengths Start each day with a positive thought Embrace change Reflect Set realistic goals

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Meet the Composers, 2021

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Dr. Joan Cartwright

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Linda Harris

Joan Faulkner

Mimi Johnson

Phyllis Battle

Sunnie Paxson

Promoting women musicians, globally!

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www.blogtalkradio.com/musicwoman Featuring women who compose their own music and men who support them!

Visit our Radio Guest Page

J

Dr. Diva JC

www.wijsf.com/radio.htm wijsf@yahoo.com Gail Boyd 515.602.9603 A Service of Women in Jazz South Florida

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47

Jazz:The Joan Cartwright Collection

By Charlene Farrington

Spady Museum, Delray Beach, FL September 2020 - February 2021 The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum’s exhibition of Jazz: The Joan Cartwright Collection was on display for five months. The exhibition was a display of 30 photographs and paintings of Jazz and Blues performers such as Alberta Hunter and Nina Simone. The paintings are by Charles Mills, an artist best known for his depictions of the African American experience. These iconic men and women were made more real to the audience in the book and their individual characteristics and personal lives were brought to life through Dr. Cartwright’s lively and hilarious monthly gallery talks.

Exhibitions such as this serve to broaden and deepen audiences’ understanding of the Black experience in America, which is part of the Spady Museum’s vision of understanding and acceptance of varying black cultures.

It is important to note that real progress in this undertaking must be done interactively. While a display of beautiful photos and paintings can provide a valuable experience for many, understanding and acceptance is only achieved through storytelling and discussion.

Dr. Cartwright regaled audiences with her knowledge of the artists and her own personal experiences. During these discussions, the culture of the music business was revealed and, coupled with life during Jim Crow, lessons were learned about the tenacity needed to survive and succeed in the music industry. Audiences were grateful for the perspectives Cartwright revealed that added context to public knowledge about Jazz and Blue musicians.

Charlene Farrington, Dr. Joan Cartwright, Sharon Blake

Stephen Tiger, Sabrena Rich, Dottie Kelly, Yvette Norwood-Tiger, Charlene Farrington, Shamele Jenkins

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Jazz:The Joan Cartwright Collection

By Charlene Farrington

The Spady Museum is pleased to bring these exhibitions to South Florida audiences and will continue to do so in the future. We are thankful to Dr. Joan Cartwright for her vision and commitment to education that brought this project to fruition. The Spady Museum celebrates 20 years of sharing the cultural contributions of the African Diaspora in Palm Beach County, as the world addresses systemic and institutional inequities. We are proud to meet this moment in history with information, clarity, and purpose. The Spady Museum remains a center for learning and healing, now and in the future. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @ SpadyMuseum.

Stephen Tiger, Dr. Joan Cartwright, Yvette Norwood-Tiger

Wencie Powell, Sherry Rudolph, Dr. Joan Cartwright

Dawn Cooper, Dr. Joan Cartwright, Donna Singer

Dr. Joan Cartwright shared her Tales from the Dusty Road

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Musicians by Instrument

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Musicians by Instrument

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Musicians by Instrument

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WIJSF connects musicians. A member and songwriter was seeking a piano player in her area. Through WIJSF she met a piano player and they worked on 3 new songs.

Membership provides you with a database of exceptional professional women in jazz. Your $60 annual dues comes with a subscription to Musicwoman Magazine.

Go to http://www.wijsf.com/join.htm

Women in Jazz www.wijsf.org

South florida Since 2007

Benefits of a WIJSF Membership You are a woman that composes, performs, produces music or you enjoy women musicians in concert. You're a perfect candidate for membership in our organization that promotes women musicians, globally. Membership is $60 annually and benefits include: • Listing on www.wijsf.com/musicians.htm or www.wijsf.com/members.htm • Announcements and events in www.wijsf.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm • Submit a song to compilation CD distributed to Radio DJs www.wijsf.com/compcds.htm • Features, articles, and discounted ads in MUSICWOMAN/MUSICMAN Magazine (2022) • Interviews on MUSICWOMAN RADIO www.wijsf.com/radio.htm • Affiliations: Donne in Musica in Rome, Women in Jazz in Serbia, and instrumental Women Association with women musicians, worldwide • Connection with the South Florida Jazz List

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Reprinted with permission from Downtown Crowd, Pensacola, FL (2021)

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Welcome to our new board and members!

MISSION STATEMENT

Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational organization that promotes women musicians, globally, through events, concerts, performances, clinics, lectures, workshops, articles, interviews, newsletters, courses, contacts, research, history, archives, websites, film, audio, and video recording, and recognition.

Gathering great women musicians together and getting their music heard by multitudes!

south florida

since 2007

www.wijsf.org

Thanks for all of your support in our mission to promote women musicians, globally!

Dr. Joan Cartwright, Founder/Director, Editor-in-Chief wijsf@yahoo.com 954-740-3398

Coming Soon

Archive 58

Bassist Kim Clarke: A Major Figure in the Worlds of Jazz and Funk Music by Rob Scheps (con’t) (con’t from page 13) I got the gig partially because I could walk on the electric. It’s a family. I’ve been playing with Defunkt for 39 years. Joe is an awesome leader. We got popular in NY and have done mostly European tours.

RS: Your electric style with Defunkt is very original.

KC: I’m double jointed so it creates a different technique. When I play ostinatos, I like to fill the gaps in between. It is like call and answer. My funk style is a bit skittery- it was influenced a bit by Steve Coleman, who used to tell me to try leaving things out.

RS: You’re a fine composer. Tell us about your writing.

KC: My style might be different from others’ styles because I didn’t have a lot of formal composition training. Some of my tunes are: Crickets, Too Much Fun, Heart Ascends, and Geri Shed.

Rob Scheps bio can be found after the 3 Bassist story in the Musicman secion of this magazine.

My paternal Granddad was a Vaudevillian trombonist turned bassist.

He let me pluck as a tiny child. ~

Kim Clarke

im Joan & K again Together March 2010

Andrew Jackson hosts Amazing Musicwomen at the Langston Hughes Library in Queens, New York

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musicwoman magazine 2020

Cynthia Sayer Trailblazing Jazz Banjoist

by Nicole “Niki” Kottmann (con’t)

(con’t from page 15) The first woman bandleader Sayer could relate to was soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, although she didn’t expect to. When a mutual friend connected them, Sayer shared her doubts about how much they had in common being on opposite ends of the jazz spectrum. Bloom reminded her they were both female jazz band leaders and asked how many others fit that description. Sayer struggled to think of another.

“It opened my eyes,” she recalled. It made her rethink her perception of women in other genres.

“I saw women rocker bands and women drummers.

I assumed that these other fields had more women than jazz did.”

Getting Noticed Sayer made small changes to fit in with the men in Early in her career, Sayer began playing festivals her field, such as incorporating swear words into her like St. Louis Ragtime Festival and Netherlands’ vernacular, which stuck. She dressed sexier, onstage, Breda Jazz Festival, building her connections in the to emphasize that she was a woman playing jazz.

U.S. and worldwide. Today, Sayer is well-known, Marian McPartland invited Sayer to play on her NPR internationally. She gained widespread recognition show Piano Jazz, a great honor, because she was only as a founding member of Woody Allen’s New Orleans the second banjoist to be asked after Béla Fleck. Jazz Band. She played with legends Dick Hyman, McPartland told her she also felt insecure being a Andy Statman, and Marvin Hamlisch. woman in jazz, initially. But talking to a shrink helped.

“I love the diversity of the things that I’ve done and Sayer was supported by a male jazz icon in a rare that I can do,” Sayer said. “But I think I need projects. encounter outside New York club Jimmy Ryan’s. She I love gigging and I also love recording. I don’t want to was feeling down that evening and her playing hadn’t just play gigs. Projects give me a product that I can be been up to par. When she ran into trumpeter Roy proud of. Playing gigs is in the moment, and then it’s gone. With projects, I can feel like I did this and I did Eldridge, she never forgot his words of wisdom. my very best.”

“It was, for me, an ultimate example of unexpected support and encouragement,” she said. “He couldn’t One of her most recent projects is the “You’re IN The care less that I was playing a banjo, or that I was Band” play-along, which offered a way to experience female. He told me to ignore all of the ‘stupid people’ being part of a hot jazz band, whether you’re interested and not let anyone stop me from following my heart. in learning, practicing, or just jamming. Not long And he promised I’d improve and feel good about it if into her career, Sayer began teaching banjo lessons.

Coaching students and giving workshops add income I kept at it. And he was right.” and spread her appreciation for jazz.

Being lifted up by more experienced members of the “I’m proud of the fact that I’ve added more jazz banjo jazz community inspired Sayer to do the same. players to the world,” she said.

“I told younger women starting out to learn good business skills along with their art,” she said. “Earning Pushing through a Pandemic a living in the arts requires more than developing and Sayer hasn’t performed onstage since early March 2020. honing your talent. Some tools that help build a career Like most artists, the COVID-19 pandemic upended are marketing savvy, digital know-how, writing skills, her career. So, she changed course. She posted more contract negotiation, and networking skills.” steadily on Facebook (@cynthiasayermusic) and

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Cynthia Sayer Trailblazing Jazz Banjoist

by Nicole “Niki” Kottmann (con’t)

Instagram (@cynthiasayerbanjo) to reach more jazz and banjo enthusiasts, and she got a new computer and microphone. Her home office is the backdrop for virtual banjo lessons and performance in Zoom concerts.

Although Sayer couldn’t bring herself to play for the first few months of the pandemic, in May, she conceived a project about music’s ability to uplift.

Her Sunshine For The World project began with a new arrangement of You Are My Sunshine that Sayer created for her Joyride Band and the rest of the tour family, even the pilot, she gained from tours through China. She partnered with drummer Larry Eagle as video editor, who created an exhuberant, artful presentation for YouTube.

Unlike her previous compositions and arrangements (BMI), Sunshine For The World was created for the digital landscape, as a permanent reminder of the hope that got us through the pandemic. “It’s my own small expression of global connection and joy from music,” she said. “It’s what happens when the power of music brings us all together.”

Poster Art by Amy Durant

Niki Kottmann is originally from the suburbs of Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri. She’s currently the features editor at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she specializes in arts and entertainment writing. In her spare time, she serves as secretary of the Grace for 2 Brothers Foundation promoting suicide prevention through awareness and education.

Nicole “Niki” Kottmann Freelance writer and editor Cell phone: (630) 484-6907 Email: nmkottmann@gmail.com Website: www.nmkottmann.wixsite.com/mysite

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Mariea Antoinette by Terri Fowler (con’t) (con’t from page 19) She shares these sentiments with anyone seeking a career in music, especially, younger women entering this industry.

Despite the music industry’s reputation for being challenging and male-dominated, she encouraged female artists to “not let it stop or hinder the growth or goals you set for yourselves in this business.”

and a BMA Image Award at the Black Music Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, CA. Her most rewarding moment was in 2019, at the San Diego Jazz Festival in Seaport Village. “This was a dream fulfilled and a major thrill to perform onstage in front of a crowd of 9,000, on the big smooth jazz stage with my band and string section.”

She added, “In life there are many challenges in all aspects and walks on our journey as human beings on this planet that no one escapes.”

Practice and music fundamentals are as crucial as educating yourself on all aspects of the business.

“Being the best at your craft is as important as producing the best product you can. It’s a reflection of who you are and your image is extremely important,” she added.

She advises artists to learn all they can to ensure their careers are successful. “Do not compromise. Talk with seasoned professionals for right and good information on how to promote yourself.”

Whether performing as a member of an ensemble or solo, Mariea’s classical and popular music training engages her audiences and makes each event memorable whether it is a wedding, VIP reception, or special event. Some exciting and unexpected moments were a call to play a luncheon for former First Lady, Michelle Obama; an invitation from B.E.T. to perform on their award show with R&B singer Ne-Yo; and a request from a professional athlete to serenade his long-time girlfriend at a private venue for a surprise marriage proposal.

The journey has been eventful and enriching, despite her choice of the harp that she describes as “very complex and technically challenging.” Yet, it has never daunted her determination to conquer it to the delight of all who hear and see her perform with precision on her acoustical or standard harp.

Mariea’s contributions and commitment to music have been acknowledged with awards ranging from the Instrumentalist of the Year by the San Diego Prestige Awards, Best Jazz Single for “Overture” by the Black Women in Jazz & the Arts Association,

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“I was exposed to the harp in middle school in a music program. A visiting harpist played Debussy’s First Arabesque. It was stunning. I knew then that was what I wanted to do, and I pushed as hard as I could to become a harpist,” according to this Southern California native.

Mariea Antoinette

Terri L. Fowler is a native of San Diego, CA. Terri has years of multimedia experience in the fields of news reporting and production, web content production, and graphic design. She earned her B.A. from Southern California State College University with a double major in Sociology and Communications Journalism. She was part of a local Christian production and record company, M.A.N.D.A.T.E. Records Inc. She promotes the diverse annual events and productions for GODRADIO1.com, an international BDS reporting station with a host of musical and informational talk shows. As the publicist and artist relations for the past five years, Terri is the media liaison for this dynamic company.

For 20 year, Terri worked at one of the largest non-profit health and human service agencies in California as Assistant Public Relations Officer, Printshop Manager, and Facility Coordinator.

She is active in her church as an Usher and a member of the Scholarship and Education Committee. In her community, she is the Administrator for Exhale Deliverance Ministries and coordinates outreach for the homeless in downtown San Diego, CA. Her work experiences include columnist, public relations, graphic designer and web content producer for the former San Diego Union-Tribune. Other titles she has held are special events coordinator, multimedia coordinator, and printshop supervisor.

She enjoys cooking, traveling, and sports. But she loves a challenge and welcomes the opportunity to learn new computer applications relating to music production, art, and entertainment.

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Annika Törnqvist by Biggi Vinkeloe (con’t) (con’ t from page 27) How you are treated as a young female musician depends on where you live and your living conditions.

As a musician, living costs a lot but you must accept a lower material standard. Some relationships are impossible, if you are not accepted for who you are and what you do.

Of course, women should be able to choose how they want to live their lives. Most women meet people who want to control them. No one breaks norms alone. To achieve lasting changes, we need a network of likeminded people. If you have children, you need to teach them that everyone, regardless of gender, should have the same opportunities and obligations.

• www.sodamusic.se/annika-20313517 • www.sodamusic.se/amazonas-1374437 • www.sodamusic.se

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Biggi Vinkeloe is a musician, composer, and educator in Sweden and California. She is a member of IMPRA, Sweden, since 2007, and the International President of the Board of Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. (2017-2019).

Ana Popović by Katarina Gradimir Lazarević (con’t) (con’t from page 33) What do you think about music theory? Do you find it important for your musical creations? Does musical knowledge liberate or constrict?

Any music knowledge that you can get, take it. You don’t ever have to stop investing in yourself and

learning music. But you will never have enough time to study after your early twenties. That’s when you’ll form the band and start working on your career. That’s a great time to invest in some musical knowledge, music theory. So, work on all of that, simultaneously.

Most artists avoid genre categorization considering that the music they create is a product of their experience and exploration in different styles. How do you feel and what do you think when music critics analyse your work, chord by chord and riff by riff, trying to put you in some genre frames?

In my case, it’s not easy to put a stamp on it because I grew up on the American sound. But I come from Europe and I insisted on my sound being different. I never tried to copy. I brought my own style and sound.

It’s based on blues, soul, and rock but every record brings something new that I haven’t done before. I tried so many different genres of music but stayed true to myself as an artist.

When we are talking about genres, we must admit that jazz or blues, for example, had a lot of style changes at the time.

What makes those changes and why are they important?

I think that music needs to “listen” and to adapt if it wants to survive.

New people move the genre in a new direction. Artists that do that are as crucial to keeping that musical genre alive as the ones that follow the tradition. Both are necessary to keep music fresh and evolving, and to inspire the next generation.

Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? Yes, Ana Popovic Music with ASCAP The year behind us was full of challenges, especially for musical performers because being a musician means interaction with an audience. What thoughts crossed your mind during this Corona crisis? What gives you strength through challenging times?

It was a year like no other. What I do - I set my mind on music. In my career and my life - coming from Serbia in the most difficult of times, and whenever I feel some kind of way, or feel a burden, or feel that I’m in the situation that I can’t control, I always set my mind on music. That’s one thing that keeps me going and not losing myself. There are certain realities that you can’t change. It’s just out of your hands. There’s not much you can do about it. But you can turn them into something you can benefit from by investing in yourself, your knowledge, and becoming better at what you do. Be strict and ask for the best from your yourself and that will be the motor to get you through hard times.

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WOMEN IN MUSIC Association Kragujevac, Serbia

The Winners of the XVII International Composition Competition 2020 (3) (ICC OVN) Deadline for submission: October 31, 2020

Jury: • Violeta Dinescu, President, Germany • Cruz Lopez de Rego Fernandez, Spain • Haitham Sukkarieh, Jordan • Marko Nešić, Serbia • Vladimir Koh, Serbia • Olivera Vojna Nešić, Art director, Serbia December 27,2020 Jury of the XVII International Composition Competition 2020 (3) decided to award, with points: 95-100 as First Prize, 90- 94 as Second Prize, title LAUREATE (points 100 +) for one competitor in instrument/s group), next composers:

Solo instrument, level 1 (age 7- 11):

VD CLRF HS MN VK OVN Prize/Points 1. Aria Song (2012-, F), USA 99 99 90 100 - 100 I / 98 for: Soaring to the Secret for piano 2. Jenny Yu (2012-, F), USA 97 98 90 100 100 I / 97 for: Trip to the Wonderland for piano 3. Joanna Mo (2011-,F),USA 95 94 92 95 96 II / 94 for: Dancing on the Waves for piano 4. Melinda Liu (2010-, F), USA 98 98 90 98 - 98 I / 96 for: Nostalgia for piano

Solo instrument, level 2 (age 12- 14):

5. Emily Bai (2008-, F), USA for: Sea for piano 6. Emily Bai (2008-, F), USA for: Three Fantasias for piano 7. Julia Lu (2008-, F), USA for: Illusion for piano 8. Emily Shi (2008-, F), USA for: A Piece to the Pandemic for piano 9. Qingyang Zhang (2006-, F), USA or: Nostalgia for piano

Solo instrument, Level 3 (age 15- 18):

10. Naomi Ling (2005-, F), USA for: A day of the Fair for piano 11. Lucy Chen (2005-, F), USA for: Dream Voyage for piano 12. Qingran Li (2004-, F), China for: Childhood for piano 13. Grace Ma (2004-, F), USA for: Three Preludes for piano 14. Ammy Yuan (2004-,F), USA for: Starry Conversation for piano 15. Andrew Liu (2003-, M), USA for: Strain for clarinet 16. Andrew Liu (2003-, M), USA for: Void for piano

VD CLRF

HS

MN VK OVN Prize/Points

97

96

93

97

-

98

I / 96

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96

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I / 98

WOMEN IN MUSIC Association Kragujevac, Serbia

The Winners of the XVII International Composition Competition 2020 (3) (ICC OVN) 17. Austine Zhang (2003-, F), USA for: Aestas, Three Piano Preludes 18. Cassi Chen (2003-, F), USA for: Moods for piano

98

98

95

100

- 100 I / 98

99

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- 100 I / 99

19. Julia Lu (2008-, F), USA for: Final for clarinet and piano 20. Julia Lu (2008-, F), USA for: Wind Chime

97

96

100

97

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100 I / 98

97

98

95

95

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98 I / 97

Chamber music, level 2 (age 12- 14)

Chamber music, level 3 (age 15- 18)

21. Naomi Ling (2005-, F), USA 95 95 98 98 98 98 I / 97 for: Wings for violin and piano 22. Naomi Ling (2005-, F), USA 97 97 90 95 97 97 I / 95 for: Mikrokosmos for string quartet 23. Nicole Liang (2005-, F), USA 95 95 93 93 95 95 II / 94 for: Surrealism for violin and piano 24. Nicole Liang (2005-, F), USA 96 96 96 96 96 96 I / 96

for: Childhood Innocence for String Quartet 25. Lucy Chen (2005-, F), USA 95 95 100 100 100 100 I / 98 for: Solace in a Storm for violin and piano 26. Grace Ma (2004-, F), USA 98 100 100 100 100 100 I / 100 for: Winds for violin and piano 27. Ammy Juan (2004-, F), USA 95 94 90 95 95 95 II / 94 for: Mnemosyne for violin and piano 28. Cassi Chen (2003-, F), USA 94 94 96 96 96 I / 95 for: A little Boy Got Lost in the Woods

V.D.: very good but impossible to play the pianoforte 29. Yikun Zhang (2002-, F), China 98 99 100 100 - 100 I / 99

for: The Dust on the Path 30. Yikun Zhang (2002-, F), China 100 100+ 100 100+ 100+ 100+ I/100+

LAUREATE L/100+ of Chamber music, Level 3 (age 15- 18) for: The beautiful Moments have passed

Orchestra, level 3 (age 15-18)

31. Lucy Chen (2005-,F), USA 93 97 93 95 100 I / 96 for: The Magic Forest at Night for small orchestra 32. Nicole Liang (2005-, F), USA 99 100 100 100 - 100 I / 100 for: Portals for Chamber orchestra 33. Grace Ma (2004-, F), USA 91 92 90 92 - 95 II / 92 for: Ocean Waves for orchestra (H.S.: Cl in Bb needs to change the key!)

34. Cassi Chen (2003-, F), USA 98 98 98 98 - 100 I / 98 for: Misty Morning for orchestra Olivera Vojna Nešić, Art Director of International Composers Competition 2020 Member of Honor Committee of Fondazione Adkins Chiti: DONNE in MUSICA, Fiuggi, Italia, Member of Women in Jazz South Florida, USA President of WOMEN in MUSIC, Kragujevac, Serbia

Katarina Gradimir Lazarević specialises in art theory. She developed an interest in synthetic musical phenomena as a student, which materialised in her Bachelor’s thesis, “The Fusion of Serious and Jazz Music Elements in Igor Stravinsky’s Ragtime for 11 Instruments”, submitted to the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, in 2002.

In her research, she focused on creativity in jazz, evident in her study, “The Synthesis of Balkan Folk Music Elements and Jazz in the Harmonic Dimension of Jazz as a Genre of Vocal-instrumental Music in Serbia”, submitted to the Department of Music Theory at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, in 2014.

Her interest stems from work as a music critic and producer of Džez scena (The Jazz Stage), a radio series broadcasted on Radio Belgrade 2 from 1999 to 2012.

During that time, her concert reviews of jazz artists from Serbia and abroad were published.

Olivera Vojna Nešić is a composer, a university professor, and founder of Women in Music Serbia. Her organization is a member of the Honor Committee of Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica, participant of Women in Music Uniting Strategies for Talent, (WIMUST), UNESCO. She is the Art Director of International Festival Donne In Musica, Member of Women in Jazz South Florida, USA.

Katarina is a member of the Honorary Committee of the Women in Music Association in Kragujevac, Serbia, chaired by Professor Olivera Vojna Nešić, a composer and research fellow at the Centre for Popular Music Research (www.cepom.org), and a member of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia. Since 2004, she has served as Executive Secretary of the Composers’ Association of Serbia.

Vojna’s works premiered in Northridge, in Los Angeles (1991), Fairbanks (1993, 1997), Indiana (1997), Phoenix, AZ (2009), Mannheim (1985), Heidelberg (2002), Našice Croatia (1987), Rome (2007, 2012), Bari (2009), Padova, Italy (2011), Brno, Czech (2006), Brussels, Paris, Sofia, Geneve, Luxembourg, Liege (2015, 2018, 2020), Basel (2018), Brussels (2019, 2020), Liege (2020).

Scholarly Publications Scholarly works by Lazarević have been published in the conference proceedings of the 2011 Women in Music symposium (WIMIS) by the Women in Music Association from Kragujevac, Serbia; by Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica, of which she is a member (Stylistic Variety of Aziza Mustafa Zadeh’s Poetics); and in the proceedings of the scholarly conference Tradition as Inspiration, published by the Academy of Art at the University of Banja Luka in 2015 (The Balkan Jazz Style in the Interpretation of Vojislav Simić and Stjepko Gut).

Awards: Mannheim (1985), Miami (1988), Corciano (1989), The New Grove Dictionary, London (1993), IBLA- NY (2001).

Performers: CSUN Wind Orchestra (David Whitwell, Awards: On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of USA), EUR Orchestra, Bari (Francesco Lentini), I Radio Belgrade 2 in 2013, she received its Charter for Solisti Veneti, Padova (Claudio Scimone), Gertrud Accomplished Collaboration, Contribution to Radio Firnkees, Moosburg, Vilma Campitelli, Roma, Choir Creativity, and the Affirmation of Radio, Culture, and Kyr Stefan Srbin (Marko Nešić), Orchestra of Opera Art. Osijek with Zagreb Soloists.

Contact: djkethrin@gmail.com

Vojna Nešić Kneza Mihaila 84/dj – 44 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia vojnanesic@gmail.com www.womeninmusic.rs

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Lessons in Quarantine by Ariane Cap (con’t) (con’t from page 35) You are taxed to listen for details and nuances of tone and timing. You need to flow with the limits of technology. The stream may speed up and slow down and, if the metronome speeds up, too, it is not the student! This takes getting used to.

The World Opens Up Gone are the days (at least for now!) when we put out local Craigslist ads to find students or when we hang out one-sheets with our info at the local music store or coffee shop. Marketing takes on an entire new shape in the online world. And that is a wonderful thing!

Having to focus more when listening and project more when talking can take a toll, in the beginning. Stay hydrated and take breaks. Get a sense of your energy level and schedule lessons to stay energized until the last student is done.

Now, not only the person visiting your local coffee shop is your potential student, the whole world is!

Today, I spoke with students from Hawaii, Australia, Canada, Germany, Estonia, the US, and Peru!

The beauty is that rather than relying on an impersonal The biggest challenge is that it is not possible to play piece of paper and a photo, you can advertise who you together. Due to latency and variability in internet are at length. You can post samples of your playing speed, playing a duet or improvising together will be and teaching on your website or YouTube channel. frustrating. I love doing call and response exercises Facebook is a great way to make it known that you are with my students. Unless we do them out of time (half available for lessons. the benefit!) we cannot do them successfully.

If your band has a fan page, ask to post your teaching I learned to organize my teaching materials differently. videos there! Don’t forget to end that YouTube video I create custom jam-tracks created by my husband, letting people know that you are open for online an amazing composer. I use Transcribe! or iRealPro. lessons and how they can reach you. The goal is to In Transcribe! I can slow down songs for students, give viewers a sense of your style and strengths. I have loop sections, or change the keys of our jam-tracks found that my online presence brings me students and send them the mp3s files. I created iRealPro files who are looking for what I offer and who are attracted with common chord progressions for exercises. I have to my teaching style. a playlist of exercises and songs to share with my Good Luck students.

Lots more can be said about how to build a successful I organized my lesson materials tightly. My catalogue online teaching presence, from using powerful online of teaching materials includes several topics including tools to setting realistic expectations and goals with the repertoire, technique, ear training, theory, reading, student; and from using automation for scheduling, rhythm, and fret board knowledge. I organized it in questionnaires, and feedback, to navigating the folders so I can refer to my system while reacting to trepidation a prospective student may have of the specific challenges or questions the student has. technology.

After the lesson, I email the student a document with practice guidelines that are specific and customized to them. I checkmark the milestones over time. Some need more detail and practice in one area than others.

So, I can dive deeper or move on and pull from various topics to make for a well-rounded lesson.

My advice is to start. Don’t sweat the technology. Just create a teaching video on your channels and make it known you are open for online teaching! Then, build from there. I have a long waiting list and a loyal student body. I love the interactions with students from all over the world every day!

I wish you much success with your online teaching Staying organized makes me relaxed and effective. activities. If you would like to reach me for a Whatever your teaching style and method, being consultation, comment, or questions, feel free to visit organized and prepared for the most common www.arisbassblog.com scenarios pays off doubly, in the online space. Every PDF, track, or regimen you have ready to refer to saves I am happy to hear from you! you time and energy.

Ariane Cap

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Ariane Cap is an electric bassist, educator, author, A self-publisher and entrepreneur, Ariane is a and blogger from Austria. frequent guest on business and motivational podcasts.

A certified TinyHabits™ coach and NLP Practitioner, Credits include Keith Olsen, Muriel Anderson, The she has a deep interest in the learning process and in Montclair Women’s Big Band, Generation Esmeralda, optimizing practicing habits and learning for herself Cirque du Soleil and others. As a leader, Ariane has and her students. teamed up with star Jazz bassoonist Paul Hanson to create the critically acclaimed duo ‘OoN’, a new She is highly active endorsing her companies collaboration with Stu Hamm that took her to Brazil. Marleaux Basses, Kala basses, and others. She co-runs solobassnight.com, a series celebrating the art of solo Ariane is an online teaching personality with a thriving bass and served two terms as a Governor of the San blog and bass courses that draw a loyal following. She Francisco Chapter Board of the Recording Academy. contributes regularly to notreble.com with her series Talking Technique and to scottsbasslessons.com; her Visit her blog at www.arisbassblog.com and her artist book, Music Theory for the Bass Player is a frequent site www.arianecap.com bestseller on Amazon. Ariane has been written about in several leading bass magazines and was featured on the July 2019 cover of Bass Player Magazine as one of four winners of the “Hottest Bass Players on the scene” poll.

Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. Dr. Joan Cartwright, Executive Director 300 Highpoint Boulevard, Unit A Boyton Beach, FL 33435 954-740-3398

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