The Girls in the Band

They did what they had to do to get the gig—wiggled and jiggled, wore low-cut gowns and short shorts, kowtowed to the club owners and smiled at the customers—and, man, could they play. The Girls in the Band traces the story of women in jazz, from the novelty acts of the ’30s and ’40s through the familiar indignities of touring in the Jim Crow South, up to pioneers like Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland, and today’s stars such as Esperanza Spalding.

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