Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
Brava Jazz was founded by composer-arrangers Annie Booth and Alan Baylock.
(Photo: Courtesy Brava Jazz)The jazz publishing outlet Brava Jazz is on a mission to support and champion women composers and arrangers in the field of big band jazz by creating a platform for their music to be widely published and distributed.
When searching for big band charts composed and/or arranged by women that would help diversify the University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band’s music library, composer-conductor Alan Baylock discovered that the major publishing outlets offered very few, if any. In considering how he could lend his strengths in jazz arranging, copywork and bandleading to help raise the visibility of women in the field, he formed the idea of creating a new publishing company.
Newly launched this spring, Brava Jazz Publishing began to grow roots when Baylock met composer-pianist Annie Booth, whose experiences in advocacy for women in jazz inform a meaningful part of her career. Her experience as a big band composer, coupled with her entrepreneurial spirit, made her a suitable match in this endeavor.
Brava Jazz Publishing boasts a diverse artist roster that includes some of the brightest voices in jazz composition and arranging today. Offering big band arrangements for all ability levels from middle school to professional, Brava Jazz provides a definitive resource for jazz ensemble directors to diversify their set lists through the performance of the highest quality music composed and/or arranged by women.
For more information about Brava Jazz Publishing, click here. DB
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
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As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
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