In 1542, the Dominican friar Gaspar de Carvajal, a member of Francisco de Orellana's expedition - the first European to cross the South American continent from the region located west of the Andes -, thought he had sighted at the mouth of the Nhamundá River, in the region of the Lower Amazon, warrior women mounted on horseback who would have attacked Europeans. Perhaps, the friar would have considered that it was the tropical version of the Amazons of Ancient Greece, a mythological nation of women, referred to by Herodotus as having existed in the 5th century BC in the region of Sarmatia. The name of our state comes from the Dominican cleric, given that the river through which European adventurers would reach the Atlantic became known as the Amazon River. In 1542, gender equality did not guide the daily lives of Europeans in search of Eldorado. Half a millennium later, the subject is at the heart of contemporary discussions. Aware of the world in which it operates, the AMAZONAS GREEN JAZZ FESTIVAL could not ignore an issue related to the role of women in jazz. Effectively, the West, in general, has been dominated by the male. It will not have been different in music. However, it should be mentioned that in popular music, there were authentic “warriors” who made history. CHIQUINHA GONZAGA has a prominent role in Brazilian music, to focus on a pioneer who, in the middle of the Belle Époque, had the audacity to challenge the social canons of the time and impose herself as a musician.

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We couldn't forget the drummer and leader of her own big band, an authentic pioneer in the Brazilian jazz field, LILIAN CARMONA. The number of women who had a prominent role in Brazilian popular music revealed mainly female singers. Musicology owes us in-depth studies on instrumental musicians in the area of the popular genre in Brazil. In the US, the history of jazz points us to the names of musicians and groups that have become references in the history of the genre. Since the 1920s, women have played an active role in jazz. The big band SWEET HEARTS OF RHYTHM, made up exclusively of women, was a pioneering big band. VIOLA SMITH a drummer who was part of the ORCHESTRA DE FRANCES CARROLL & HER COQUETTES, among many other groups, gaining enormous prominence on the scene between the 30s and 70s. Arrangers and instrumentalists began to figure prominently in the jazz scene, achieving increasing notoriety. Mary Lou Williams, pianist, Marion McPartland, pianist and arranger, Melba Liston, trombonist, Maria Schneider, arranger, Toshiko Akyioshi, arranger and pianist, are just some of the names that illustrate the history of female jazz. The AMAZONAS GREEN JAZZ FESTIVAL pays homage to the AMAZONAS DO JAZZ in 2023, inviting groups formed or led by women, as well as mixed formations, to the event. REGINA CARTER, ELIANE ELIAS, ELLEN ROWE, MELISSA ALDANA are just some of the names that await you at the AMAZONAS GREEN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2023.
 

 

Rui Carvalho

Artistic Director Amazonas Green Jazz Festival
Principal Regent Amazonas Band