Women in Jazz Media: The Podcasts – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to our podcast series ‘On The Bookcase’, featuring female authors from across the world, with host Fiona Ross and original music from Hannah Horton.  We were excited to find our podcasts named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot! Huge thank you to them! You can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot! 

In this episode we welcome Dr Alexis McGee, to talk about her new book, From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics

Dr. Alexis McGee received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at San Antonio where she also received two certificates of concentration in Linguistics and Rhetoric and Composition. Drawing from this background, McGee is an interdisciplinary scholar who engages with various fields and sub-disciplines such as Rhetoric, Composition/Writing Studies, Black Studies, Critical Pedagogies, Sound Studies, as well as Women and Gender Studies. Her concentrated research interests, more specifically, focus on Black women’s rhetorical uses of voice, literacies, and expression.

McGee’s book, From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics,  (SUNY 2024), amplifies Black women’s ongoing public assertions of resistance, agency, and hope across different media from the nineteenth century to today. By examining recordings, music videos, autobiographical writings, and speeches, Alexis McGee explores how figures such as Ida B. Wells, Billie Holiday, Ruth Brown, Queen Latifah, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Janelle Monáe, and more mobilize sound to challenge antiBlack discourses and extend social justice pedagogies. Building on contemporary Black feminist interventions in sound studies and sonic rhetorics, From Blues to Beyoncé reveals how Black women’s sonic acts transmit meaning and knowledge within, between, and across generations.

Her work has been featured on BBC Radio4 and published in various venues including College, Composition, and Communication (forthcoming, 2022); Rhetoric Review (2021); Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies (2018); Obsidian (2017); and Pedagogy (2016).

Buy the book here

Alexis McGee links here

Welcome to the latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Kai Hoffman

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Originally from Boston, MA, USA, Kai Hoffman is a blues, jazz & cabaret singer, songwriter, bandleader and recording artist based in the United Kingdom. Kai’s international reputation is growing steadily with shows including Don’t Tell Mama and the Metropolitan Room in New York City, The Blue Note in Milan and the European Jazz Expo, with further performances in countries as varied as Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Russia. Kai is also the founder of the Herne Bay Jazz Festival:

Founded by artistic director Kai Hoffman, Herne Bay Jazz Festival CIC became a registered non-profit community interest company in February, 2024. As a CIC, we are currently expanding our year-round programs which will include workshops and performances over the course of the year as well as our August events. With a strong emphasis on exploring this genre of music without the barriers of cost or travel, our program includes new and established performers across a wide range of jazz styles, with free workshops for children and adults to explore their own creativity, offering our audiences the broadest selection possible, with an emphasis on inclusivity. Kai’s links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Laura Impallomeni!

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Laura Impallomeni is a jazz trombonist, composer and musical director of various projects. In 2020 she graduated from her MMus in Jazz Trombone from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she studied improvisation and composition under world famous musicians. She went on to receive the Arts Council England ‘Develop Your Creative Practice Fund’ to compose a collection of original contemporary jazz compositions under skilled mentorship, featuring trombone as the lead instrument.

In November 2020, she debuted this body of work at a sold out concert at London Jazz Festival 2022 with her contemporary jazz quintet . She has just been awarded the “record and Release’ grant from Help Musicians and expects to release her debut jazz album in 2024. Laura has performed and toured with various renowned artists such as First Aid Kit, The Dualers, Giffords Circus, Janet Kay and Ken Boothe. She is the musical director, composer and trombonist of an original 11 piece afro jazz band called ‘Yamäya’, who have just released their debut album ‘Senegal’ on Funkiwala Records. She is also the trombonist for Rootsgarden Dub Soundsytem, The Voodoo Love Orchestra (cambia and salsa) and Barnacles (experimental jazz) and works for London music charity ‘Play for Progress’ as a therapeutic music teacher/workshop leader with young asylum seekers and refugees.

On the 25th of April she will perform a mixture of some of her original compositions and her favourite standards alongside members of her quintet. Tickets available here

Laura links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too!

In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Helena Jane Summerfield!

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Helena Summerfield is the Learning and Participation project manager at Jazz North the jazz talent development agency for the North of England. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 1997, saxophonist Helena has worked in a variety of mainstream and inclusive music education settings. She was the lead jazz tutor at Trafford Music Service when they received the 2021 ‘Will Michael Jazz Education Award’ and awarded 'Jazz Educator of the Year' at the 2022 ‘Parliamentary Jazz Awards’ in recognition of her work on ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’. Helena has also worked as the interim programme manager for the National Youth Jazz Collective (NYJC) In her role as Learning and Participation project manager for Jazz North Helena is currently working to create new teaching resources to encourage beginner pupils (and their teachers!) to engage with jazz and improvisation. As a performer Helena plays saxophone and flute in a number of Manchester based bands. She has co-created 3 interactive children’s shows that have been successfully performed around the Northwest of England. Upcoming performances – ‘Animal Fantasia’ for ‘Make Create Feel Great’ at St. Benedict’s School, Ealing on 11th April 2024 ‘There once was a bird’ and ‘HMS Syncopation’ interactive children’s shows at Manchester Jazz Festival – 18th May 2024.

Helena links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Welcome to the next episode of our podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Breathe Love’ is from Lara Eidi herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Evie Asio

Evie Asio describes her sound as “musical storytelling”, as a result of her desire to provoke emotions and narrative throughout every layer of her music. Evie grew up in South-East London, where she used the range of musical styles around her to begin writing songs at the age of 15. After graduating with a BA in Music, Evie began her music career through releasing a series of experimental projects on Soundcloud and YouTube. Evie’s Jazz-inspired debut single, ‘Beautiful Love’ [2019], was featured on the AStepFWD September 2019 chart, and led Evie to be named a 2020 One to Watch by Premier Gospel. Throughout her journey, Evie has performed at notable venues such as The Spice of Life, Proud Camden and Jazz Live @ The Crypt, as well as supporting BAYLI on her London headline show in 2022.

In November 2022, Evie Asio released her debut album ‘Contending and Contention’, a 9- track concept album dealing with the themes of struggle and self-reflection that she has explored in her own personal battles. The album received critical acclaim in various publications, including Something Else! And Jazz in Europe. Songs across the album have received international radio play, with singles ‘Available’ and ‘From Here’ being named as China Moses’ ‘Late Night Track of the Week’ on Jazz FM, and ‘Turning Time’ and ‘Imperfect People’ being featured on BBC6 Music.

Instagram // Website // Twitter // YouTube

Athens born to Lebanese Canadian parents, Lara Eidi is an artist that thrives on being different. As an independent artist, singer and multi- instrumentalist, she has carved a path for herself that continuously aimed at reshaping and developing her voice as a storyteller. An accomplished and reputable singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist and jazz- folk vocalist of her own accord based in London and Athens. Her music has gained her critical acclaim as a genre bending artist (BBC Artist, 2020), described as “a singer with true gift of a voice, a kind soul, and a captivating presence.” (Jazz UK). At the heart of her being as a multi-disciplinary artist, she is sought after as a composer for vocal film scores, writes as a freelance music journalist, and is in demand as a creative workshop leader. Her music seeks to elevate and heal, and as a result, she creates genre- defying songs with a great emphasis on story telling. Her latest album ‘Sun’, her long awaited debut album, is all about pulling the threads of her folk, acoustic rock and jazz-classical upbringing to her message of hope, empowerment, and freedom. As a soloist, her recent debut performance at the infamous Royal Albert Hall, singing select pieces from Greece and Lebanon form the MedievalByzantine Traditions sees Lara engaging on a series of select and innovative performances with the SAUDHA Indian Classical Music Assocation. 

Lara Eidi website

Welcome to our podcast series ‘On The Bookcase’, featuring female authors from across the world, with host Fiona Ross and original music from Hannah Horton.  We were excited to find our podcasts named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot! Huge thank you to them! You can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot! 

In this episode we welcome Judith Tick, to talk about her new book, Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song

Judith Tick is professor emerita of music history at Northeastern University. She has published award-winning books and articles about American music and women’s history in music, including Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer’s Search for American Music. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

In this first major biography since Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald clears up long-enduring mysteries. Archival research and in-depth family interviews shed new light on the singer’s difficult childhood in Yonkers, New York, the tragic death of her mother, and the year she spent in a girls’ reformatory school—where she sang in its renowned choir and dreamed of being a dancer. Rarely seen profiles from the Black press offer precious glimpses of Fitzgerald’s tense experiences of racial discrimination and her struggles with constricting models of Black and white femininity at midcentury.

Tick’s compelling narrative depicts Fitzgerald’s complicated career in fresh and original detail, upending the traditional view that segregates vocal jazz from the genre’s mainstream. As she navigated the shifting tides between jazz and pop, she used her originality to pioneer modernist vocal jazz. Interpreting long-lost setlists, reviews from both white and Black newspapers, and newly released footage and recordings, the book explores how Ella’s transcendence as an improvisor produced onstage performances every bit as significant as her historic recorded oeuvre.

From the singer’s first performance at the Apollo Theatre’s famous “Amateur Night” to the Savoy Ballroom, where Fitzgerald broke through with Chick Webb’s big band in the 1930s, Tick evokes the jazz world in riveting detail. She describes how Ella helped shape the bebop movement in the 1940s, as she joined Dizzy Gillespie and her then-husband, Ray Brown, in the world-touring Jazz at the Philharmonic, one of the first moments of high-culture acceptance for the disreputable art form.

Breaking ground as a female bandleader, Fitzgerald refuted expectations of musical Blackness, deftly balancing artistic ambition and market expectations. Her legendary exploration of the Great American Songbook in the 1950s fused a Black vocal aesthetic and jazz improvisation to revolutionize the popular repertoire. This hybridity often confounded critics, yet throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ella reached audiences around the world, electrifying concert halls, and sold millions of records.

A masterful biography, Becoming Ella Fitzgerald describes a powerful woman who set a standard for American excellence nearly unmatched in the twentieth century.

Available to purchase here

Welcome to the next episode of our podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Tide is from Lara Eidi herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Nadine Khouri

Nadine Khouri is a Beirut-born musician and songwriter currently based in Marseille. Influenced by dream-pop, film soundtracks and spoken-word, her sound has been described as a #music born of perennial outsider-status.” Discovered by legendary producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels) for her singular voice, Khouri was invited to sing on his track ‘Baby’s Coming’ and subsequently recorded her debut with the producer in his hometown, Bristol.

Self-released in February 2017, ‘The Salted Air’ cemented Khouri"s one-to-watch status. It was hailed by MOJO as "A thing of dark possessed beauty” in their four-star album review, celebrated by Q (Critics Choice) and selected as one of Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year. Acclaimed music photographer Steve Gullick (Nirvana, Bonnie $Prince" Billy) shot Khouri"s press photos and cover art. He also directed the video for #You Got A Fire”.

Since the album’s release, Khouri has performed in some of Europe’s most prestigious venues, including Royal Festival Hall, Botanique, Paradiso, The Berlin Palace, and has shared the stage with Low, Aldous Harding, Marissa Nadler, and many more.

Her follow-up album, ‘Another Life’ was released on French label Talitres on November 18th 2022. Recorded between London and Bristol with John Parish, the album extends the collaborative partnership that began with Khouri"s acclaimed debut. Fans of Khouri"s music so far will recognise her distinct and minimalistic approach to both vocals and music alike: the serene, dreamlike quality to her songs, suffused with otherworldly, beatific textures. Sonically, the album is set to a shifting sonic tapestry, taking in blues, fragile drum machine rhythms and sun-bleached 1970s Laurel Canyon rock. Though the record finds Khouri uncertain of her place in the world, her music has never felt more assured or precise.

Athens born to Lebanese Canadian parents, Lara Eidi is an artist that thrives on being different. As an independent artist, singer and multi- instrumentalist, she has carved a path for herself that continuously aimed at reshaping and developing her voice as a storyteller. An accomplished and reputable singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist and jazz- folk vocalist of her own accord based in London and Athens. Her music has gained her critical acclaim as a genre bending artist (BBC Artist, 2020), described as “a singer with true gift of a voice, a kind soul, and a captivating presence.” (Jazz UK). At the heart of her being as a multi-disciplinary artist, she is sought after as a composer for vocal film scores, writes as a freelance music journalist, and is in demand as a creative workshop leader. Her music seeks to elevate and heal, and as a result, she creates genre- defying songs with a great emphasis on story telling. Her latest album ‘Sun’, her long awaited debut album, is all about pulling the threads of her folk, acoustic rock and jazz-classical upbringing to her message of hope, empowerment, and freedom. As a soloist, her recent debut performance at the infamous Royal Albert Hall, singing select pieces from Greece and Lebanon form the MedievalByzantine Traditions sees Lara engaging on a series of select and innovative performances with the SAUDHA Indian Classical Music Association. 

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ featuring music from Hannah Horton. We were excited to find our podcast named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot! Huge thank you to them! To celebrate we have a new theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah Horton. You can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes rising star Mary Sho

Mary Sho, a singer and songwriter hailing from South London with a worldwide sound which transcends time and space, offering a home to lovers of authentic, live sounds. Sho’s sound drops you into the late 70’s and early 80’s with tinges of contemporary soul infused with funk origins, creating sounds similar to if Lizzo met Solange met Childish Gambino met Sly and The Family Stone with Thundercat on additional bass!

Armed with live instrumentation and striking, self-directed and self styled visuals, Sho’s spacey vocals float over bass-heavy, funk-soul sounds. while highlighting the experiences of Black women and owning the power of her identity, mind, body and soul. Mary Sho has been featured on BBC London Radio multiple times and has recently performed at Brixton House (Soho Friends) ans Cafe KOKO. This year she was one of the recipients of Women in Jazz Media 2023 'Kicking Down The Door Creator Fund' and has just released her debut Album titled ‘WOMAN RISING’ in the world

Mary Sho links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Welcome to our podcast series ‘On The Bookcase’, featuring female authors from across the world, with host Fiona Ross and original music from Hannah Horton.  We were excited to find our podcast named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot! Huge thank you to them! You can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot! 

In this episode we welcome Arlette Hovinga, to talk about her new book, How To Build Relationships in the Music Industry: A Guide for Musicians

'I’m Arlette, a freelance jazz promoter and media director from The Netherlands. Originally, I produced and programmed events in The Hague, where I lived most of my life. I’ve also toured with bands such as The Four Tops and The Temptations. In 2015, I decided to spend more time in The Netherlands than on the road and shifted my focus back to PR and marketing. Since then, I’ve worked with clients in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland and Russia.

When I have time, I enjoy having beers with unsuspecting jazz musicians and check out shows at my favorite local jazz bar, Dizzy in Rotterdam. Some Humble pie; I was honored to win a Netherlands Music Industry Award in January 2020, awarded at Eurosonic Noorderslag. In 2021 I joined the 7 Virtual Jazz Club competition as a juror.  I was a jazz juror for the first time in 2019, at Jazz Across Borders in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and enjoyed it very much. I’ve also had the pleasure of being invited as a speaker at the Why DIY Music Podcast and by Gail Boyd at Alternative Venues for Jazz.'

Book available to purchase here

Arlette website here

Welcome to the next episode of our podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Tide is from Lara Eidi herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Carmen Souza

Carmen Souza was born in Lisbon within a Christian family of Cape Verdeans. Very early she experienced the “Sodade” feeling of missing someone with the long absence of her father due to his work at sea. She grew up in a mixed language environment of Creole, the Cape Verde dialect her parents spoke at home, and Portuguese, always surrounded by the Cape Verdean way of life.

Theo Pascal, her producer and mentor, but also one of the greatest bass players in Portugal, discovered her talent and introduced her to the world of jazz and other contemporary music that could help it develop her register. Carmen Souza has become a true world music force and one of Europe's most in-demand jazz singers, as someone said: "Carmen Souza does not have to decide whether her music is Jazz or 'World Music'. Her style is just as unique as convincing and her Cape Capeverdean roots are as evident as her desire to create a new language under the label of 'World Jazz'.

Lara Eidi: An award -winning self made artist born in Athens to Lebanese Canadian parents. Multi-instrumentalist, storyteller, singer, composer and also a freelance music journalist, workshop leader and educator…the list of Lara’s skills is long, as has been her music career. Lara discovered music at an early age with the Greek National Opera Productions. She earned a Masters in Jazz Voice Studies with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and completed a Degree in English Literature at the University of St Andrews. She has performed in some of the most renowned London venues but also internationally, from her hometown of Athens to the Beirut International Festival. On stage, Lara doesn’t only sing but also plays the piano, the guitar and leads entire bands. Whilst collaborating with some of London’s acclaimed musicians across the jazz and folk scenes, she has self-released two EPs (‘Little People‘ and ‘Tell It Like It Is’) and, during the pandemic, launched and founded her own teaching platform, “Phonica Music Coaching”, through which she shares the important message of healing through music. This is also the essence of her music. All this wealth of experience converges into her album ‘Sun’, which incorporates Lara’s many talents as composer, musicians, singer and arranger, through stories of hope and empowerment.

She’s collaborated with some of London’s finest musicians across the jazz and folk scenes, often switching roles between standing upstage as a versatile and engaging singer, to leading an entire band whilst sitting at the piano and singing.   Recently supported by Hawkwood College and the Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust, and about to release her biggest album to date ‘ Sun’,

Finally, her passion for music as a life choice has led her to become an in-demand educator, offering workshops at leading music institutions as well as community spaces in Europe. As if that wasn’t enough she launched and founded her own teaching platform “ Phonica Music Coaching “ during the pandemic, leading music sessions across the globe to people who needed an alternative method of healing; after all, it was music that led Lara to engage time and time again, and at the heart of her creativity is a need to make her personal experiences relatable to all, through her music.

Now residing between Athens and London, and a new album underway, “Sun” has already gained critical global acclaim from award winning journalists and she was just nominated for songwriter of the year by the renowned Orpheus Global Music Awards. Lara Eidi website