Musicwoman Magazine 2019

Ellen Seeling & Jean Fineberg Lead

The Montclair Women’s Big Band

The Montclair Women's Big Band was formedin1997,withthehelpof mylong-time partner, saxophonist and composer Jean Fineberg. I could not have done it without Jean. While celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band in 2017, I reflected on whywe put thebandtogether,what weaccomplished,and what we want the future to look like. It is exciting.

Jean and I met on an ISIS recording date in 1975. ISIS was the first women's "progressive rock" band with a horn section like Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago. The band was based in New York City, but we were in New Orleans to do the second album produced by the legendary Allen Toussaint, who contributed compositions and played the piano. This was a life changing experience for me, as a graduating student at Indiana University.

Jean and I became the horn section, and, over the next 10 years, we were featured in the bands and recordings of ISIS, Laura Nyro, Chic, Sister Sledge, Cornell Dupree, Latin Fever, and other groups. In 1980, we started a jazz fusion band, DEUCE, featuring Jean's compositions. DEUCE played all over the country for 15 years and released two recordings. We lived in Hell's Kitchen, until we moved to an easier life in California. We loved New York, but it was intense, and we wanted a change.

After working together as a horn section for over 20 years and founding a successful jazz ensemble, I wanted something more community-oriented. DEUCE was not an allwomen's band. As I grew older, I became more radicalized about the status of women instrumentalists incommercial music. Having performed with jazz, pop,disco, rock and salsa bands, I was deeply concerned with gender discrimination that I experienced in genres and how it affected women as we aged. I wanted to find a Basie-style jazz big band for women only with 17 pieces to accomplish more than playing gigs. I wanted to showcase the large community of outstanding women jazz players in the San Francisco Bay Area. I wanted to have a great big band that provided visibility, employment, networking opportunities, and a training ground for younger women coming up on the music business. Also, I wanted to showcase the original compositions of women composers and arrangers, locally and nationally.

Leading a seven-piece jazz band was entirely different from organizing and operating a 17piece big band. There were more complications with arrangements, rehearsals, contracting players, meeting payroll, finding rehearsal space and work. My secret weapon was Jean. She knew sax players. I knew brass players. We were fortunate to have worked with world class rhythm sections in New York. We knew who to look for there. We had twice as many contacts, twice as much experience, and the advantages of two heads, which were better than one. We bounced ideas off each other and shared suggestions about players and repertoire. We researched potential sources of work and shared management styles. “Good cop, bad cop” proved as useful as having two people keep band members focused on learning and polishing the ensemble. We had double the energy with two of us finding performance opportunities to get the group off the ground.

For 20 years, Jean and I have performed with this wonderful band. Musicians have come and gone, while only a few are original members. Our oldest member is 72 and our youngest is 24. We played for the Grammys in Los Angeles, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at the greater Bay Area jazz festivals, countless clubs, outdoor community events, fundraisers, parties, and at industrial and political rallies. We have seen the women's jazz scene flourish and grow. We formed smaller groups within the big band. We have big fun at our shows and the audiences love seeing that.

The Montclair Women’s Big Band is tight, and it has all been so worth it. But we are not done. Currently, we are working on a new CD, Women's Work, featuring original compositions and arrangements by members of the band, Jean and I envision more years of performing and community building. It has been a big part of our lives and our partnership in leading this band made it possible.