Marguerite Horberg had spent years on the jazz scene–producing shows, supporting the music in a variety of ways–when she finally realized, last fall, that something was missing. She’d just finished hosting a 25th- anniversary tribute to Chicago’s AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) at Hothouse, her gallery. “Where,” she asked herself, “are the faces of women?”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Women have played an important role in jazz virtually from the beginning. But with a few exceptions, women jazz musicians have historically had to be geniuses, like Mary Lou Williams, associated with a famous male artist, as Marian McPartland was, or both–consider Toshiko Akiyoshi–to be properly recognized.
The idea seems to have touched a nerve in the jazz community. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has enlisted Horberg’s help in recruiting women saxophonists for its scholarship contest this year. “It shows what a vacuum there is,” Horberg says, “that this woman would call us from D.C. and say, ‘Would you take up this work to find local Chicago musicians to apply for this money?’”
