Sax Discrimination
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%x Discrimination Number42 October 20, 1980 The last time I bent Current Con- whom [ spoke at the Congress could ten (s m readers’ collective ear to discuss understand why 1 wanted to do such an my love for the saxophone, I I said 1 had article. If 1 was at a scientific meeting never encountered a commercial record- and said [ was writing an article about ing by a woman saxophone player. A women scientists, there would be a high few readers wrote to me [o remedy this degree of interes[. [ would get a variety situation. A subsequent investigation of strong opinions on the subject of sex showed that there are relatively few discrimination in science. The lack of in- women sax players. However, we were terest on the part of the women sax- able to compile a brief list of recording~ ophone players indica[ed to me that made by women $axophonis[s. It ap- many in the world of music feel a musi- pears in Table 1. cian’s gender is irrelevant. Those women The paucity of’ women sax player~ 1spoke with at the WSC seemed to think raises the touchy question of sex dis- that if a woman had talent, she had no crimination. It is true that some of the problems in competing succe~sfully with greats of jazz are women. Ho}vever, ac- her male counterparts. But as we cording to some of the female saxi$ts we learned, not all women saxophonists feel spoke with, some forms of musical ex- this way. pression were considered “unladylike” One $tatement most women saxists for many years. Voice, piano, and flute would probably agree wi[h is that seem to have been some of the accept- women jazz musicians are more wel- able musical media for women, But ap- come now than ever before. But the field parently o[her instruments, including of women’s jazz sax has had some in- the saxophone, were perceived as “mas- teresting pioneers. Fred L. Hemke of culine. ” One reason for this may be [hat Northwestern University, a notable in the early 1900s, the sax was con- classical saxophonist in his own righ[, sidered primarily an instrument for published a dis~erta[ion on the early military bands. ~ Fortunately, sex dis- history of the sa~ophone. His account crimination in music is on the \vane. contains fome interesting stories about At the Sixth Annual World Sax- women sax players, particularly from ophone Congress (W’SC) at Northwest- the early decades of this century. ] One ern University, in June of 1979, [ made of the fir$t American female sax players an effort to identify women sax players was Eli\e Hall, At the turn of the cen- who had made \oIo recordings and who tury, her doctor suggested she take up could be helpful in compiling this essay. music to combat her apathy and depres- Perhaps the most surprising result of my sion, She chose the sax and became quite quest was this: none of the women with good. She was the first US performer of 650 Table 1. Some recordings by women sax- ody, a B-flat tenor, a baritone, and a ophone players. bass sax.3 (p. 449) The modern counter- Bloom, Jane Ira part of these groups is the all-female W’e Are. Outline Records OTL-137 rock band, such as the “Raincoats” or (PO. Box 104, Waban, MA 02168) the “Mo-dettes” of the UK. Inciden- Redd, Vi tally, contemporary rock music has pro- Bard Ca//. United Artists 01516 duced a few women sax players. Singer- songwriter Lene Lovich plays tenor sax Stobart, Kathy on her albums Stafeless (Stiff/Epic JE Arbeia. Spotlite SPJ 509 36102) and Flex (Stiff/Epic JE 36308). .Saxp/oifafiorr. Spotlite SPJ 503 Take // from {he Top (with Humphrey And a singer and composer named Lora Lyttelton). Black Lion Records BLP 12134 Logic plays tenor and soprano sax for a Kansas Ciry W’onrarr(with Humphrey Lyt- band called “Essential Logic “ on the al- [elton and Buddy Tare). Black Lion Rec- bum Beaf Rhythm News (Rough Trade 5). ords BLP 30163 Unfortunately, there are only a hand- Thompson, Barbara ful of well-known contemporary women Ji’ilde Tales. MCA-MCF 3047 sax players. Jane It-a Bloom, a soprano Paraphertra/ia. MCA-MCF 2852 and alto saxist, produced and recorded Jubiaba. MCA-MCF 2852 an album with bassist Kent McLagan. Variations (with Andrew Lloyd Webber). MCA-MCF 2824 Bloom graduated from Yale University JUSIMusic (with The Don Kendall Five). with a BA in music in 1977. She was also Spotlite SPJ 502 listed in Downbeaf’s 27th Annual inter- national Jazz Critics Poll.-r Another Miscellaneous Artists Women irrJazz (includes Barbara Thomp- American, Vi Redd, an alto player based son and Kathy Stobart). Stash 109. in Kansas City, Missouri, has cut an album called Bard Ca//. solo sax, and the first amateur to play My recent visit to our UK branch in with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Uxbridge reminded me that 1 had not Notably, she commissioned Debussy’s finished the research I began at the Rapsodie for orchestra and solo sax. ~ WSC. Last fall I mentioned the subject (p. 433) matter of this essay to my friend In the 1920s Kathryne E. Thompson Margaret Crowther in Paris. Margaret directed the Southern California Sax- handles publici[y for several French art- ophone Band. She also gave sax lessons ists and musicians, including hlax Col- in Los AngeIes. Some of her female stu- lie, whose “Rhythm Aces” are probably dents became successful vaudeville art- the best Dixieland group in the world to- ists. One, Mary Campbell, was a beauty day. Margaret asked me if I had ever contest winner. She attributed her heard of Carol McBean, who had made beauty to the exercise that sax playing a recording with Ivy Benson. (More gave her face and neck muscles. ~ (p. about Ivy later. ) She gave me the 453-4) A pair of twins joined at the hip telephone numbers of a few musicians in from birth who studied under Thomp- London. Eventually 1 tracked Carol son were Violet and Daisey Hilton. The down to Torpoint, a little towm on the British saxophone duo was billed as Cornwall-Devonshire border. In a “The United Twins” by vaudeville. 3 (p. telephone conversation Carol proved to 453-4) Another female sax player during be quite ebullient and agreed to send me the vaudeville era was Marie McNeil. some of her tapes. Almost a year later I She also directed “The Highlanders, ” a called her again and she convinced me to women’s alto saxophone sextet. The take the four-hour train and ferry ride to group consisted of two altos, a C mel- Torpoint. 651 I was greeted at the door by Carol’s strong. AIOng tne way me nas ooostea husband, Eddie Gasser, a [rombonist other female musicians, including the for the Royal Marine Band. Carol was well-known British saxophonists Kathy about seven months pregnant, which Stobart and Barbara Thompson. ~ seemed to emphasize all-too-well the dif- 1didn’t hear of Kathy until lasl year at ficult choice a female artist may have to Dobells’ jazz record shop in London. make. This will be her second child. This of course displays my American Nancy, age 3 ‘/~, was bouncing around provinciali~m because Kathy had been all during our “interview. ” Carol [old playing with Humphrey Lyttelton for me that as soon as the baby arrived she year$. She is the featured sax player on would be working again. She had been two impressive albums made by Lyttel- playing for over 15 years and while she ton in 1975 in London. I won’t say too enjoyed domestic life $he eventually had much about Lyttelton, but if you are in- to “have a blov.. ” terested in further details you can con- When I showed Carol wha\ I had wri{- SUII his book Take It j_rom fhe Top, ~ ten so far she told me of her many en- named after [he record of the same title. counters with male musicians who had On this record Stobart does some won- been conditioned against the idea of derful folof on baritone sax, not a par- women jazz musicians. “When I had to ticularly “feminine” instrument if one is go 10 a club and ask the piano player if I obsessed with the idea that small is could hake a go he’d be in a \tate of beautiful or feminine. shock. But after I played a fcw numbers Stobart apparently joined Lyttelton’s he would try to hire me on the spot. ” So band in the late 1950s. They made a maybe the problem is not really discrim- record entitled Kath Mee[s Humph, ination per se but bad conditioning. which I have not yet been able to obtain. In 1976, a record store clerk suggested Lyttehon’s composition “Rain, ” orig- to Carol that $he audition with Ivy. Ivy inally included on that album, is part of asked Carol to play tenor sax on a re- Take Itj’rmn the Top, and it is a delight. cording she was making. Carol took the If you are fortunate enough to pos~ess train to London and finished tfre record- the album please let me know or send a ing in one nine-hour session. The record- tape. Another Lyttelton record, A’atl.sas ing has not yet been released. Ivy de- Cify Woman, includes original composi- scribes Carol as “brilliant abso- tions by Buck Clayton, known to Count lutely jazz. ”f Basic and Benny Goodman fan$.