LGBTQ representation in jazz

Last updated

There has been a longtime but relatively unknown history of LGBTQ representation in jazz. [1]

Contents

History

Since the Jazz Age, the genre has been popular with LGBTQ audiences. In Chicago, the Bronzeville and Woodlawn neighborhoods were home to several gay bars that hosted jazz performers and drag balls. These events on the South Side were often racially integrated with working-class queer crowds and provided a space for diverse identities at jazz clubs, until the clubs closed by the 1960s. [2]

LGBTQ jazz musicians

Patricia Barber Nasjonal Jazzscene 2017 (212649) (cropped).jpg
Fred-hersch DSC05858 (cropped).jpg
Portrait of Billie Holiday and Mister, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Feb. 1947 (LOC, 5020400274, cropped).jpg
MaRainey.jpg
Patricia Barber (top left), Fred Hersch (top right), Billie Holiday (bottom left), and Ma Rainey (bottom right).

Patricia Barber, [3] Spencer Day, [4] Tiny Davis, [5] Fred Hersch, [6] [7] [8] Billie Holiday, [9] Tony Jackson, [10] Dave Koz, [11] Allison Miller, [12] and Ma Rainey [13] [14] are among LGBTQ jazz musicians. Sammy Rae & The Friends is a "multi-genre pop/rock/jazz septet fronted by a charismatic queer- and bisexual-identifying female singer-songwriter." [15]

Jazz has been known as "notoriously macho", but there were more openly gay and lesbian musicians by the 2000s, such as Barber, Andy Bey, and Gary Burton, who have inspired later generations of LGBTQ performers. [16]

Events

The first queer jazz festival in the United States took place in Philadelphia in 2014. [17] [18] Queer Jazz launched in London in 2023. [19] The group's monthly LGBTQ jazz night started in Dalston in 2025. [20]

Various LGBTQ-friendly bars have hosted jazz nights and queer jazz performers, such as Scandals in Portland, Oregon, [21] and Petra's Bar in Charlotte, North Carolina, which uses jazz nights to be both an artistic and queer space and shape the local music scene. [22] The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has also hosted drag queen brunches. [23] [24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gavin, James (2024-08-18). "Homophobia in Jazz". JazzTimes. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  2. ↑ Edgar, Hannah (2022-06-30). "Decades Before Boystown, South Side Jazz Clubs Were A Haven For Queer Chicagoans". Block Club Chicago. Archived from the original on 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  3. ↑ "Who the F Is … Jazz Musician Patricia Barber?". www.pride.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  4. ↑ "This Gay Jazz Singer Has Performed for Mike Pence's Mother". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-16. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  5. ↑ Cherry, Nina (2022-06-03). "The Forgotten History of a Leading Lesbian Jazz Trumpeter Driven from KC". Kansas City Magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  6. ↑ Shapiro, Gregg (2022-06-07). "Q-Music: All that (queer) jazz". Philadelphia Gay News. Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  7. ↑ "Fred Hirsch's Life In & Out of Jazz". www.out.com. Archived from the original on 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  8. ↑ "Memoir addresses jazz and sexuality". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  9. ↑ Kim, Michelle Hyun (2021-01-12). "Watch Andra Day as Black, Bisexual Icon Billie Holiday in New Biopic Trailer". Them. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  10. ↑ "The Openly Gay Pianist Who Dazzled Chicago in the Early Twentieth Century". WTTW Chicago. 2019-06-12. Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  11. ↑ "Jazz Musician Dave Koz on Going Silver and Gay Cruising". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-16. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  12. ↑ "How Unapologetically Queer, Feminist Jazz Drummer Allison Miller Built a Career Based Around Truth-Telling". Pride Source. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  13. ↑ Friederich, Brandon (2017-06-07). "Ma Rainey's Lesbian Lyrics: 5 Times She Expressed Her Queerness in Song". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  14. ↑ "Gertrude "Ma" Rainey Biography". Gertrude “Ma” Rainey Biography. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  15. ↑ Rule, Doug (December 28, 2024). "D.C.'s Hottest Gay Bars for Your New Year's Eve Party Plans". Metro Weekly . Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  16. ↑ Gavin, James. "Provincetown's busiest jazz player is ready to reintroduce himself to Boston - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  17. ↑ "A Queerly Cool Jazz Festival in Philadelphia". WRTI. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  18. ↑ Petenbrink, Troy (September 3, 2014). "Philly celebrates gay jazz artists". Metro Weekly . Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  19. ↑ "London Event Series Queer Jazz Launches | News". Clash Magazine. June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  20. ↑ Hansford, Amelia (January 13, 2025). "Queer jazz night launching in London". PinkNews . Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  21. ↑ Scandals in Portland, Oregon:
  22. ↑ Ruller, Kayleigh (June 28, 2024). "Queer-friendly music venue and more: Petra's Bar in Charlotte is full of life" . Charlotte Observer . Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Another event locals really look forward to occurs every Monday: The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session
  23. ↑ Brasted, Chelsea (2024-04-25). "Drag queens go big at Jazz Fest 2024". Axios New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2024-05-21. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  24. ↑ Choum, Bun (April 26, 2024). "New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival welcomes back drag brunch". WDSU . Archived from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.