page_title: Women in music
section_title: Jazz
hierarchical_section_title: Women in music / Singers / Jazz
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt (Milton) Jackson, and Timme Rosenkrantz, Downbeat, New York, N.Y.
context_page_description: Women in music describes the role of women as composers, songwriters, instrumental performers, singers, conductors, music scholars, music educators, music critics/music journalists and in other musical professions. As well, it describes music movements, events and genres related to women, women's issues and feminism.
  In the 2010s, while women constitute a significant proportion of popular music and classical music singers, and a significant proportion of songwriters, there are few women record producers, rock critics and rock instrumentalists. Notable women artists in pop, such as Bjork and Lady Gaga have commented about sexism and gender discrimination in the music industry. Additionally, a recent study led by Dr. Smith announced that "...over the last six years, the representation of women in the music industry has been even lower".
context_section_description: While woman have been underrepresented in jazz as instrumentalists, composers, songwriters and bandleaders, there have been many notable women singers. Bessie Smith sang both the blues and jazz. Lena Horne first appeared in the Cotton Club as a teenager. Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were known for their ballads during the swing era. Shirley Horn sang both jazz and blues. Nina Simone sang jazz, folk and Rhythm and blues. Etta Jones sang rhythm and blues and jazz. Anita O'Day is known for her contributions to Bebop. Betty Carter sang during the post-bop era. Mary Lou Williams was a singer and pianist during the swing and hard bop eras. Sarah Vaughan is known for her singing in the Cool jazz era. Other notable singers include Rosemary Clooney, Diane Schuur and Flora Purim. Contemporary jazz singers include Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot and singer-bassist Esperanza Spalding. Esperanza Spalding has been trying to speak out louder and push towards more conversation about the current discrimination in jazz. In 2017, Esperanza Spalding spent 77 hours straight creating an entire album titled Exposure to help change herself. It quickly became "a display of dauntless prowess and grand ambition" and showed, to thousands of people, a woman working confidently within the male dominated space of a recording studio.
caption: Ella Fitzgerald performing with Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson and Timme Rosenkrantz in September 1947, New York
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