Results for "Women in Jazz"

Shanta Nurullah

Born: June 16, 1950

Shanta first heard the sitar while on a 1969 study abroad stay in Poona, India. She found a teacher, Bhaskar Chandavakar, and received beginning instruction for five months. After college, she acted in Chicago's Kuumba Workshop had a few bass lessons from Pete Cosey, who sent her to Kelan Phil Cohran, who encouraged her to explore the sitar in her own special way. After several years in Cohran's Black Music Workshop, Shanta formed her first band, Insight. Players with this group included Ari Brown, Malachi Favors, Babu Atiba, Bernice Brooks, Alan Burroughs, Randy Ford, Elihoenai and Yosef Ben Israel. Her next group, co-founded with vocalist Rita Warford, was the all women's emsemble Sojourner, with members from Chicago and Detroit (Chavunduka Sevanhu, Sherri Weathersby, Kafi Patrice Nassoma, Elreta Dodds, Gayelynn McKinney, Ahsia Hill). 

Erika Toda

Erika Toda is a guitarist from Japan whose musical background spans blues, jazz, rock, pop, and Latin.
Based in New York. 

Her name is written as 戸田絵理香 in Japanese.

Erika Toda homepage

Katie Bull

One of the most stimulating, adventurous and consistently surprising jazz singers on the scene today, Katie Bull is never predictable, even when melodically exploring a vintage ballad. Her work with multi-media productions has been innovative, she has recorded seven diverse and high-quality CDs, and she is enthusiastic about constantly stretching herself. "My whole body voice practice grounds me in the moment with my band...I love playing with consummate improvisors, the act of listening, the adventure of not knowing what is coming next..."

Artistic talent runs in Katie Bull’s family. Her father Richard Bull was a jazz pianist and a dance improviser, her mother Fran Bull - still alive - is a notable painter, and her stepmother Cynthia Novack was a dance anthropologist and improviser. Born in New York City, she grew up in upstate New York in Brockport, a small town. “I remember early on hearing my father playing jazz piano. We had a regular jam session in our home that ranged from bebop to totally out. I could always hear the melody in my head, even though it wasn’t being played!” She often accompanied her dad to his gigs and to events that he produced. After they moved back to Manhattan, a 15-year old Katie sang standards weekly at Walker’s in NYC with her father accompanying her on piano.

Ramona Horvath

Born: September 9

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker Biography

Pianist and composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the Montréal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz, the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year Award, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year, and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame. A dynamic improviser, an artful composer and a responsive accompanist, Nancy has been praised both for her work as a solo artist and as a musical collaborator. As a side player she can be heard on a wide range of recordings, by artists from saxophonist Kirk MacDonald to vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow to children’s entertainer Raffi. More recently she can be heard on the 2024 recording Here’s To Life by John Neudorf (on which she was both pianist and co-producer), and Sarah Jerrom’s 2025 JUNO-nominated Magpie.

Jessika Smith

Andromeda Turre

Born: December 5

Vocalist and composer Andromeda Turre has honed her craft over a lifetime immersed in music. Born into a family of Jazz musicians, she was formally trained at The Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. Her talents have taken her around the world, from touring with Ray Charles, to headlining festivals with her own music in 17 countries worldwide. In addition to her vocal talents, Andromeda is an accomplished composer whose original works have been featured in film, television, video games and theater. Andromeda hosts her own show on the SiriusXM Real Jazz channel every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-5pm EST. Her upcoming album, From the Earth, is a programmatic jazz suite illuminating the pressing issues of environmental justice and the precious bond between humanity and the earth. Releasing July 26, 2024, the album is made possible by grant funding from Jazz Road, Doris Duke Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts and ArtsWestchester.

BOOKING

Bridget Walsh

With an international tour résumé spanning everything from Glastonbury's Hell Stage to New Zealand's National Jazz Festival, Bridget Walsh is an accomplished, compassionate and dynamic artist, hellbent on leaving the world better than she found it.

A vocalist, keys player, songwriter, composer and producer, Bridget has writing credits with over 25 million streams on Spotify and a Masters Degree on the way from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, one of the world's top conservatoires.

Growing up in Aotearoa but now based in South London, Bridget is a session artist, musical director, curator and DJ, and bandleader of future-soul collective, 10:32.

Worldwide Special: Ginger Johnson, Ebo Taylor, Themba, Gerardo Friscina & Toco, Timo Lassy, & More

by Tony Poole
January 31, 2025

Tony Poole dives into the latest Afro-Cuban, Latin, and Brazilian jazz releases on this special worldwide edition. Expect a vibrant mix of fresh grooves and captivating rhythms that continue to push the boundaries of the music they call jazz. Playlist madoron “Samba de Flora" from A Door (Urban Discos) Salin Cheewapansri “Lam Intro" from ...

Mina Choi

Mina Choi is a Korean-born, Los Angeles–based jazz pianist, composer, and arranger whose music uniquely blends jazz, classical influences, and the rich traditions of her Korean heritage. With years of experience as both a performer and educator in California, Mina’s work reflects her personal journey, characterized by beautiful melodies, intricate rhythms, and colorful harmonies. Each composition tells a story, inviting listeners to experience a deep emotional connection to her music.

Mina studied music at the Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts in Korea and received a Master’s Degree in Music from California State University, Fullerton. She has performed at renowned venues across the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Jazz, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Queen Mary, Catalina Jazz Club, and the Blue Whale Jazz Club. Internationally, her group has performed at the Bucharest International Jazz Festival, as well as in France, Spain, Portugal, Japan, and Korea.