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It was in June 2001, that singer Joan Bender
organized a protest against Marsalis’ female-free orchestra. The adoption of blind auditions did result in a dramatic rise of females in music, but “virtually none of the top mainstream bands . . . currently employ any female players as permanent members,” wrote Lara Pellegrinelli in The Village Voice. They had “Testosterone Is Not A Musical Instrument” written on their placards. Does trumpeter, composer, teacher and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s music director Wynton Marsalis, have any females full-time in his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra? Their website photo says it all.
In Business and Society, Joseph McGuire argues that an organization must "act justly" as a proper citizen should. Yet historically, there have been violations of organizations "acting unjustly," that in today’s context seem astonishing. Just a few short years ago, a real estate licensee legally would not show any black family houses for sale in white neighborhoods. Then, the viewpoint of the real estate managers and owners, who were white, was that they were acting as a proper citizen should. They were just following the then norms of their community. In other words, how would a reasonable person in their world respond to that situation? That begs the question of what is “reasonable?” What the real state agent did was show houses. What the real estate agent also did was foster an attitude of racism. This is the display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one race is superior in some or all respects to the other. The result was institutionalized prejudice and discrimination.
The example of race I used could be expanded to anything. The result is still always institutionalized prejudice and discrimination.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one gender is superior in some or all respects to the other.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one age is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one marital status is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one religion is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one government is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one economy is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one location is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that carrying out one form of death penalty is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The display of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that result from the compulsory assumption that one’s music is superior in some or all respects to the others.
The result is still always institutionalized prejudice and discrimination. Peter Drucker alluded that a useful way to distinguish behaviors in organizations is first to see what an organization does to society, and second what an organization does for society.
For example, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra plays music while continuing to promote sexism. Nothing really new though in the Jazz world. Changing mindsets is hard: especially changing one's own. It is also where the rewards, love, money, opportunity, and success lie. Trumpeter Valaida Snow proved that in 1928 when Louis Armstrong not only had her play in his orchestra, but take solos. Snow was also an accomplished singer and tap dancer. The Harlequin label has 1935-37 Valaida Snow recordings yet music teachers fail to mention her, promoting sexism.
Changing mindsets was proven again the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a product of 1937 rural Mississippi, as they swept America and Europe in the 1940’s with their USO tours and Armed Forces Radio broadcasts. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm tenor saxophonist, Vi Burnside, ranks right up there with Coleman Hawkins yet music teachers also fail to mention her or the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. The Rosetta Records label has their recordings available, yet no “definitive history of Big Band” even mentions them, promoting sexism.
Mary-Lou Williams, pianist and composer, bumped up against the Glass Wall that segregates and marginalizes women. In the 1930’s, she was finally billed as “The Lady Who Swings the Band.” “It was the first time we had ever seen a girl cat who could carve up the local boys,” said bandleader Harlan Leonard. Yet, years later, Sherrie Maricle, now leader of Diva, was told that the only way she could sit in at the New York Blue Note was “if you take your shirt off.” Female trumpeter Billie Rogers, then 22 years when she played her big penetrating sound with Woody Herman’s The Band That Plays the Blues, had more stamina Herman later recalled in Gene Lee’s Leader of The Band: The Life of Woody Herman.
In the 1950’s Golden Age of television, Black women Ina Ray Hutton and Ada Leonard were seen but not heard on tv, and no sponsor would back jazz violinist Ginger Smock.
Drummer Sylvia Cuenca played as trumpeter Clark Terry’s regular band drummer. Saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen is excellent. Diva is Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra. Flutist and composer Nicole Mitchell vividly remembers Anaheim, California when she lived there as an eight-year old girl. She was told to move on because she was degrading the value of the house she was standing in front of on the sidewalk. After the 1977 airing of Alex Haley’s Roots, her classmates chased her with ropes brandished as whips.
Our own Brooster Kim is a flute player.
Prejudice and discrimination are the result of differences in cultural interpretations. All those tricks the dominant culture has learned to engage their superiority means the dominant culture is always the judge. However, one culture’s freedom fighter is another culture’s terrorist. Prejudice and discrimination arises because each of us is different in our motivation, the sequence of memories our culture triggers, the emotional tone we feel, and what emotes as we gaze upon culture. Fact is; all we do is interpret. Then reasonable and diversity become subject to legislative laws and judicial scrutiny at state, local, federal, and increasingly global, levels. Part of the process of achieving reasonableness and diversity is conflict, because a common mistake is confusing integration with diversity. By integration and diversity, I do not mean solely to racial. If not resolved, most, if not all, of this conflict, will end up in the courts or battles.
As for Reno being sexist in its search for its new Philharmonic Maestro, Last Conductor Standing is three women and two men as the final candidates for the Reno Philharmonic conductor. The Reno Philharmonic is down to the last five maestros for our new conductor. That means the 2008/2009 season is Last Conductor Standing. More than 60 talented local musicians make up the Reno Philharmonic. They perform in not only Reno, but other outdoor and indoor venues throughout northern Nevada and California . The MasterClassics Series, very popular, is one of the country’s most successful classical music subscription series. The orchestra also gives us much more: Holiday Classics, Spirit of the Season, Rhythm & Rawhide, 4th of July in Genoa, Lake Tahoe Music Festival, and Pops on the River.
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BRAVO!! Morgana!!!
I loved this article. More recent but notable in Jazz is Bassist - Nedra Wheeler. She is incredible and more than makes her statement on her instrument...Guys...watch out!!! Karen Hernandez - Piano is another great DIVA of Jazz and Viola Smith was a Drummer in the 1940's. Of course, the late, great Karen Carpenter - was a Drummer before she started exercising her vocal chops. An, WHAT a Drummer she was!!! She could play anything....
Thanks Morgana for writing this and for the mentioning me in your article:) ~Kim