Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Dee Alexander performs at the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert in Chicago on March 10. (Photo: Lauren Deutsch)
(Photo: )March is national Women’s History Month. It’s an occasion to commemorate the role of women in the political, cultural and scientific history of the United States, as well as to honor the innovations and pioneering spirit of trailblazing women around the world. That sense of purpose was on full display at a recent concert in Chicago, where the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative, a free program focusing on dialog, connection and musical exchange between professional women musicians, produced a star-studded event featuring some of the city’s best female artists.
Held at the Garfield Park Conservatory and produced in part by the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the concert coincided with the centennial anniversaries of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron and Lena Horne, and included numerous tributes to these groundbreaking musicians.
The performers on hand to pay homage included a host of Chicago treasures, including vocalist Dee Alexander, cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Gayelynn McKinney (who together formed the Chicago-Detroit Collective), as well as members of the SHE sextet, a dynamic ensemble spearheaded by former Chicago Jazz Orchestra members Bobbi Wilsyn (vocals), Deanna Witkowski (piano) and Audrey Morrison (trombone).
Below is a series of photos from the concert that capture the overwhelming sense of pride in this momentous occasion. For more information on the Jazz Institute of Chicago Women’s Leadership Initiative, visit www.jazzinchicago.org. DB
Anastasiya Kadukov (center) performs with her quartet at the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert in Chicago. (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
Tomeka Reid (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
Gayelynn McKinney (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
,_Marlene_Rosenberg_(b),_Bobbi_Wilsyn_(v),_Sarah_Allen_(d),_Juli_wood,_(s)_Audrey_Morrison_(t)_WEB.jpg)
Kelly Brand (left), Marlene Rosenberg, Bobbi Wilsyn, Sarah Allen, Juli Wood and Audrey Morrison of the SHE sextet. (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Bobbi Wilsyn (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Marion Haden (left), Dee Alexander, Gayelynn McKinney and Tomeka Reid of the Chicago-Detroit Collective. (Photo: © Lauren Deutsch)
Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory, home of the Women In Jazz Leadership Initiative concert. (Photo: Courtesy of the Jazz Institute of Chicago)
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
