Text Von Jürg Meier, Bilder von Henry Schulz
Jazz needs women
The proportion of female jazz musicians is still low. Concerts by women are promoted at the Festival da Jazz. But this is by no means enough to redress the imbalance.
When Hammond organist Rhoda Scott performs with her Lady Quartet in St. Moritz on 13 July, it will also have something to do with the advancement of women. The concert is supported by the charitable foundation of investor Carolina Müller-Möhl. She has been committed to supporting concerts by women at the Festival da Jazz for six years. "Women are still practically invisible on the jazz stage," says Müller-Möhl, who is also a member of the NZZ Group's Board of Directors. Only female singers are an exception. MüllerMöhl has been a big jazz fan since her youth. Her goal is to get more women on stage. The reason: "If you want more women to perform on stage, they need female role models on stage." Nothing confirms this statement more beautifully than the career of jazz saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen. She had the desire to play the saxophone at the age of 13. The reason: a performance by Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer on television. "The musician, her music and her saxophone inspired me," says Johänntgen today. "I didn't know any other women in jazz."
The sound of freedom
The blatant under-representation of women is astonishing, as equality has always been a theme in jazz. The music was also referred to as the "sound of freedom". Jazz musicians saw themselves as fighters against prejudice. Only the emancipation of women was hardly ever of importance. The effects can still be seen today. If you exclude female singers, between five and seven per cent of students at Swiss jazz schools are women, says Valerie Portmann. She was head of the jazz department at Bern University of the Arts from 2006 to 2018. The situation is similar in Germany. Musicians there launched a declaration on gender equality in jazz in 2018. According to the document, 20 per cent of active musicians are female jazz musicians. But even in Germany, a large proportion are female singers. If you exclude them, the proportion of women drops to just 12 per cent. The figures for teachers are even more extreme. According to Portmann, there is not a single female instrumental teacher in Switzerland. In Germany, there has been just one since 2018.
"IF YOU WANT MORE WOMEN TO APPEAR ON STAGE, YOU NEED FEMALE ROLE MODELS ON STAGE."
But why are women still so rare in jazz? According to Carolina Müller-Möhl, there are many reasons for this - just like everywhere else where women are still in the minority. One of them is unconscious prejudice. "We know from studies: If CVs don't allow any conclusions to be drawn about the gender of applicants, more women are hired and later promoted."
In jazz, there are also other factors, such as the strongly male-dominated world of classical jazz. There it was also a question of playing the previous soloist to the wall. The styles of bebop and hard bop, which dominated for a long time, were "sporty and competitive", says Portmann. Almost only men had a style-defining effect.
In the sixties, free jazz broke with this aesthetic. But even this highly political style remained male-dominated. The British journalist Val Wilmer writes that women were virtually discouraged from playing instruments by male free jazz musicians.
It doesn't seem to be down to the basic will of women. According to the German Jazz Union, more girls take lessons at music schools than boys. But then "fewer girls and women find their way into the first bands and ensembles".
According to Carolina Müller-Möhl, promoting concerts is of course not enough to improve the position of women in jazz. But there are no simple solutions. During her time as head of a jazz school, Valerie Portmann explicitly looked for women for teaching positions. She often did not receive a single application. This is also the reason why, in her view, quotas "are unfortunately not feasible".
In the end, however, according to all interviewees, there is no way around it: more women are needed on stage, more female lecturers, more female theatre directors. But how can more equality be achieved? Just like women in other professions, female jazz musicians are dependent on better structures, says Müller-Möhl. For example, affordable crèches and day schools.
Pressure and self-initiative
But it probably also needs a mixture of - more or less - gentle pressure and a lot of initiative. In future, the German Jazz Union will alternate between awarding the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize to male and female musicians. Musician Nicole Johänntgen wants to motivate women with a special support programme. Another project for female musicians of different styles is being organised under the title "Helvetia rocks"
"THE BLATANT UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IS ASTONISHING, BECAUSE EQUALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE IN JAZZ."
More equality in jazz is not only important for women. It is at least as important for jazz. According to Valerie Portmann, women bring different qualities to the music. "I have often found women to be very open. They are curious and open to experimentation." This is good for music, which is always in danger of becoming museum-like.
But there is another reason for more gender equality: so that jazz doesn't lose its audience. Saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen talks about a colleague who recently attended a jazz concert. "She only saw men on stage. She went straight home again."