Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising
Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising is designed to teach young female musicians the basics of jazz, improvisation, and how to express their individuality through music. Students study well known jazz tunes as well as song form and other basic musical concepts. ALL skill levels are welcome! PJGR is partnered with The Nash jazz club in downtown Phoenix.
About the development of PJGR:
“Several years ago, while trying to develop a new concert idea, I started researching women in jazz. I already knew that being a female musician was “challenging” to say the least, but then I came upon a blog by a female student of jazz at one of the well known NY schools. It seems that the same attitudes and behavior towards women that I had experienced in the last three decades were still a common occurrence. Women were dropping out of these schools because of the discouragement that constant negative feedback will bring. My outrage turned into a plan to try and make a supportive community for the aspiring and performing female musicians in the area. With the help of Mary Petrich, Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising was developed for young women. A future mentor program and women’s big band are in the works! There is more to come for the aspiring female musicians of Phoenix. “
Both Mary and Claudia are involved in the
AZ Commission on the Arts grant application, which focus is building the women’s jazz community by performing the works of female jazz composers and engaging aspiring female instrumentalists to learn and play jazz.
In this initiative, they performed two ‘MeToo’ themed concerts, one of which featured female students. Mary and Claudia are both working jazz musicians dedicated to building the community of female artists by creating learning environments which support and empower young players.