The Girls in the Band

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Sharon T Fabulous to see the pioneers and the young talent in the same movie. Loved the progression from big to solo and back to big. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/03/22 Full Review Pete B Women in jazz deserve way more recognition, and this doc shines a light on some seriously underrated musicians. The amount of talent here is crazy, but it’s also frustrating to see how much they had to fight just to be heard. So worth watching. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/25/25 Full Review Audience Member Eye-opening and great story. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrible. It covered what seemed like an endless list of female players with each just getting 2 or 3 minutes with very short snippets of their music. Would have been much better if the cover 1/3 as many people with 3 times more time for each. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A truly amazing documentary. Great photos, untold stories that I am so glad that are being told and the music, oh the music. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw this at the Cleveland International Film Fest 2012 and had to buy the DVD from Judy Chaikin who was there to answer questions after the screening. Informative and fun doc filled with lots of big band/jazz music. Chaikin begins the movie with a famous group portrait of all the big name jazz musicians living in the '50s. Only three women are included and two are identified. This music doc uncovers the fact that there were many more women who were jazz musicians, but so many have been forgotten. It was okay for women to be vocalists or pianists, but women faced many obstacles if they wanted a career playing brass, sax, drums, or other instruments. This doc looks at sexism and racism. It examines nearly a whole century in the history of female jazz musicians with graphics that suggest an old photo album. In the 20s through the 40s The International Sweethearts of Rhythm are given special focus. In the post-WWII years, things reverted to rampant sexism. A few women who achieved some success as jazz soloists and arrangers are highlighted. Then following the feminist movement, beginning in the mid-70s, the Kansas City Women's Jazz Festival and a new generation of women jazz musicians are celebrated. In the end, the photo from Harlem '58 is recreated in front of the same brownstone with a few survivors and dozens of girls from jazz bands. This movie has whetted my interest in jazz! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Girls in the Band

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