The Girls in the Band

Ever heard of the Ingenues, Harry & the Debutantes, the Harlem Playgirls, or the Queens of Syncopation? THE GIRLS IN THE BAND is a delightful jitterbug through the history of women's jazz music, starting with the big bands of the 1930s. Usually not allowed to play with the boys, women trumpeters, sax players and trombonists formed their own bands, and many of them tell their stories here. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was a mixed-race group that played the black theater circuit. Roz Cron, one of its only white members, tells about the prejudice they faced performing together in the South. Musicians discuss their resentment at being treated as novelties, their horror at being made to wear pink ruffles, and their amusement at being told to smile like starlets while playing their horns. Featured artists also include “trumpetiste” Clora Bryant and Ina Ray Hutton, “that pretty little spitfire of syncopation,” with her Melodears. Contemporary artists such as Terry Lyne Carrington and Maria Schneider are thankful to the women who paved their way toward musical equality. “You want to be good anyway,” one old-timer says; “but if you're the girl in the band, you have to be.” –B.B.