Women in Jazz Earanee Niedzwiecki

My guest for Episode 12 is trumpet player and long-time advocate for women in jazz, Ellen Seeling. A Milwaukee native, Ellen was the first woman to earn a degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University. In 1975 she moved to New York City, where she worked with the likes of The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Machito, the Slide Hampton Big Band, Luther Vandross, Laura Nyro, The Temptations, Isis and Martha Reeves, among countless others. In 1980, Ellen and her now-wife, saxophonist and co...

This month’s guest is documentary filmmaker, Kay D Ray. Kay is the producer and director of the award-winning documentary Lady Be Good: Instrumental Women in Jazz, which features interviews with artists like Marianne McPartland, Vi Redd, Carline Ray, Roz Cron and Quincy Jones. She is also the producer and director of its more recent counterpart, In Her Hands: Key Changes in Jazz, which looks at women’s experiences in jazz today in the United States, and features artists like Anat Cohen, Grace...

Pureum Jin is a South-Korean born, NYC-based, award-winning saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Pureum began playing saxophone as a teen in Korea, and developed her chops as a jazz musician in Seoul, before being accepted to a master’s degree program at Manhattan School of Music in New York City.After graduating in 2017, Pureum moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, for a year, where she performed as a member of the great John D’earth’s Sextet. Moving back to NYC in 2018, Pureum has been establ...

Camille Thurman grew up in Queens, New York, and developed her love for music at an early age, practising flute, piano and vocals. As a teen, Camille was accepted to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts, where she first picked up the tenor saxophone at age 15.Although some of Camille’s experiences in her final years at high school almost drove her away from a career in music, through the support and mentorship of experienced musicians, she found her way...

Risa Branch is a vocalist and songwriter from the US. Although currently based in New York City, Risa grew up in Dallas, Texas, and spent much of her musical career working in Vancouver. While those who have followed Risa’s musical development might recognise her for the futuristic R&B and soul sounds of her debut solo album, in recent years Risa has found her way back to her roots as a jazz and blues vocalist.Risa and I caught up back in July, when things were opening up a little again o...

Audrey Powne is an Australian trumpeter, vocalist and songwriter. Born in Warragul, in country Victoria, Audrey moved to Melbourne as a teen, where she took every opportunity to get stuck into jazz and the local music scene. A prolific young musician who has been central to Melbourne's jazz and soul scenes in the last decade, Aussie audiences might recognise her from the sweet soul band Leisure Centre, and her electro funk project Au Dré. Although Audrey has been based in New York for some ti...