Editors Note: As I was reading Tex Wyndham's book of collected Shouts this spring I had a growing feeling that they should be shared again. It was this column, encouraging women to join the band, that tipped the scales for me.
I was at the time reviewing a new CD from the fantastic Shake Em' Up Jazz Band, an all-women group whose members play as instrumentalists in other bands. All-female groups date back to the thirties, and recently we've enjoyed Mighty Aphrodite, one of Bria Skonberg's early groups, and Cynthia Sayer's Women of the World Jazz Band. It is an appealing gimmick.
But in September, as part of a Women Take The Lead column I reviewed a CD by Megan and Her Goody Goodies on which five out of eight members were women, not for any other reason than that they were the best musicians available. That's real progress. I'm also aware of many many other women receiving accolades for their supporting roles in bands.
But, most of what Tex identifies in this article will still ring true. Women make up not nearly half of active traditional jazz instrumentalists and most bands still only have women in a vocal role.
That is what I like about these columns. They
The full run of “Texas Shout” has been collected into a lavishly illustrated trade paperback entitled Texas Shout: How Dixieland Jazz Works. This book is available @ $20.00 plus $2.95 shipping from Tex Wyndham. On request, Tex will autograph the book and add a personalized note (be sure to tell him to whom the note should be addressed).
