[Dixielandjazz] "The Girls in the Band" reviewed - NY Times

[Robert Ringwald]

Playing Jazz in High Heels and Skirts
by Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times, May 10, 2013
"The Girls in the Band" is everything a worthwhile documentary should be, and then
some: engaging, informative, thorough and brimming with delightful characters. Shining
a long-overdue spotlight on the shamefully forgotten women who flourished as jazz
musicians at a time when men ruled the beat, Judy Chaikin's beautifully assembled
film gives voice to performers whose names are too often unknown even among their
musical sisters of the present day.
Narrated by a sassy bunch of players who worked primarily in the 1930s and '40s --
including the saxophonist Roz Cron and the pianist Marian McPartland -- this is a
story of punishing sexism bested by humor, determination and raw talent. Excluded
from all-male bands, some women formed their own, enormously successful outfits like
the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and the Melodears. Touring, however, was
not without its perils.
"Traveling through the South is something we'd like to forget," Clora Bryant, the
self-described "trumpetiste," tells us, recalling a Jim Crow law against mixed-race
bands. Playing military bases during World War II was less hazardous and more fun,
even if, as another interviewee points out, "a lot of girls had to go back to the
kitchen" when veterans reclaimed their jobs.
Brilliant editing by Edward Osei-Gyimah arranges many of the film's priceless black-and-white
performance clips into witty illustrations of the gals' anecdotes. So when one musician
explains how women were expected to smile throughout a performance, her comment is
followed by a montage of horn and trumpet players hilariously struggling to comply.
I doubt anyone ever tried that with Dizzy Gillespie.
-30-



-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

"When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife." -Prince Philip