MUSE/IQUE’s 'The Girls in the Band' Celebrates Female Pioneers of Jazz

MUSE/IQUE presents a series of concerts in and around Pasadena, Calif. that are mash-ups of music from different genres--frequently incorporating film, dance and unexpected elements that give these evenings a sense of adventure and artistic discovery.

MUSE/IQUE's next offering is Girl/Band on November 11, an evening of jazz that includes a screening of the documentary film The Girls in the Band, about the women who had the chops to break through the genre's "brass ceiling" in the early 20th century. The evening also holds a panel discussion with director Judy Chaikin and some of the artists portrayed in her film, as well as musical interludes performed by saxophonist Mindi Abair and other leading ladies of jazz.

Girl/Band is part of MUSE/IQUE's "Uncorked" series, a traveling party of smart fun that happens in improvised concert halls in and around Pasadena. Girl/Band will take place in the Avon Distribution Center. Avon, itself, is a symbol of female empowerment, making this a fitting locale for a film about the women who were pioneers in a field that didn't exactly welcome them.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for wine, mingling and the unexpected. The 7:30 p.m. program will be curated by MUSE/IQUE artistic director Rachel Worby.

"The amazing women in this film, and the guest artists joining us, show the remarkable power of jazz to empower, transcend and lift the soul no matter what challenges stand in the way of making music," Worby said.

For more information about MUSE/IQUE's "Uncorked" series, visit muse-ique.com/events.

Future concerts in this series include...

Spring/Within (February 24, 2014)

On a wild collection of instruments, MUSE/IQUE musicians perform Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, teaming up with dancers to revive the visceral WWII energy of this quintessentially American composition.

Beatbox/Bloom (April 7, 2014)

This evening melds classical music with beatboxing, featuring the Doric Quartet joining forces with M.C., hip-hop producer and sampling pioneer Mike Simpson.