Home » Jazz Articles » Book Review » Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music

6

Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music

By

Sign in to view read count
Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music
Renate Da Rin (ed.) and William Parker (coed.)
294 Pages
ISBN: 978-3-00-049279-2
Buddy's Knife
2015

Every time a book about music is written, the history of music is also rewritten and musicians are included or left out, and old and new myths rejected or confirmed. This is something that many authors are conscious about, but seldom an issue that is addressed. Therefore, it is refreshing when a book like Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music pops up. It is a text that is conscious about putting a spotlight on women in creative music, since there is tendency to focus less on women and more on men when the history of music is told. The sleeve of the book humorously points this out, saying the book is about her-story, as opposed to his-story.

There are many good people behind the book, but the diverse musical threads are gathered by the editors; journalist and publisher, Renate Da Rin, and bassist, composer and philosopher, William Parker. Together they have invited an overwhelming number of female musicians, forty-eight in all, who tell about the creative process, spirituality and the role of gender in music. Each interview is composed as the thoughtful and free-flowing individual answers to a fixed list of questions, including questions like: "What is your process and system of putting music together?," "what were your personal breakthroughs in music and in life?" and "does your music have political or spiritual undertones?"

The list of fixed questions is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because the questions are considered and engaging and produce many deep insights, a weakness because they produce a somewhat recognizable pattern that is experienced as perhaps a bit mechanic if too many interviews are read in a row. However, the solution is quite simple: preferably, the book should not be read in one sitting, but instead be digested in delicate pieces where the singularity of each artist comes to the fore. The interview form works well, but not as a long narrative and it is refreshing when flutist Nicole Mitchell breaks the rules and writes a poetic essay without specific answers to the questions and when vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu starts with a poetic tale before she answers the questions.

These technicalities aside, there should be no doubt that Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music is a beautiful and necessary book that is filled with wisdom about music and life. The reader is encouraged to seek out the music of these strong individuals who work in many different genres. However, there is a bias towards improvised music. The list of musicians is long and there will be names that will be familiar to the dedicated listener, for instance, many followers of the ECM-label will know the pianist Marilyn Crispell, but there will also be many new musical discoveries. It is a generous and life-affirming book, a joyful and intellectually rewarding rewriting of history into herstory and like all the other jazz books on the excellent imprint Buddy's Knife, it is a true labor of love.

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.