Music instrumental to nonprofit's quest
Pasadena-based group is dedicated to promoting female jazz concerts
By Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer :: Pasadena Star News
PASADENA -- Quietly, with little fanfare, a Pasadena-based nonprofit has been creating a reputation as a promoter of quality female jazz concerts.
Instrumental Women is headed by La Quetta M. Shamblee, 44, who founded it six years ago and initially ran it from her Monrovia home before moving two years ago to offices at 980 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
A jazz fan who once aspired to be a drummer, Shamblee said IW owes its existence to two questions.
"I would ask people to name five male jazz musicians. Most people over 30 could do that,' she said. "Then I'd ask them to name three female jazz instrumentalists, excluding singers. Nine out of 10 people couldn't do that.'
A knowledgeable response, she said, could include Vi Redd, Inglewood, an alto saxophonist; Carol Chaikin, Santa Monica, who plays saxophones and the flute; and Pasadena's own Lesa Terry, a renowned jazz violinist.
IW's signature event is the Lady Jazz concert, scheduled July 2 at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.
Past performers have included Karen Briggs, violinist, Laurie Andrews and Clarolyn Maier , harpists; Nedra Wheeler , Jennifer York and Leslie Baker, bassists; Karen Hernandez, keyboardist, Terri Lynn Carrington, drummer; Jacqueline Klimek, saxophonist, and guitarist, singer and songwriter Darlene Moreno .
Guest artists who have performed with IW musicians include Dizzie Gillespie, Elton John, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Barry Manilow, Max Roach and the late Barry White.
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which operates the Ford Amphitheatre, provides a grant that helps fund the Lady Jazz Concert.
Shamblee is a student of female jazz musicians and their history and is amazed how much has been forgotten about such groups as The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, who between the mid-1930s and mid- 1940s rivaled male jazz groups in popularity.
An IW goal, Shamblee said, is "edutainment,' which means educating and entertaining an audience about the role of women in jazz. Their concerts are scripted and researched to achieve those goals, she said.
The idea for IW was born in 1997 when Shamblee helped organize a Women in Jazz benefit concert to raise money for a HIV/AIDS program serving women and children. It was so successful she decided to stage another one, and also registered the Instrumental Women name and owns it.
Crossing ethnic lines, IW is sponsoring the Latina group Mariachi Divas, which will perform at Ford on Aug. 26. IW also will sponsor the 1st annual Youth Musicians Summer JamFest, for students in the seventh to 12th grades, all day July 30 at Farnsworth Park in Altadena.
Terry Boykins, 43, who handles IW's business affairs, said a problem is many girls abandon music when they adopt the view that being in the band is not cool. To counter that, IW has a Meet the Artist program that introduces them to professional female musicians.
"They become role models to the girls,' he said. "They're telling these young people stay focused on your education, stay involved with your music and keep learning.'
Involvement with music can lead to more than a career or a pleasurable pastime, said Boykins, citing President Clinton and his saxophone as an example of how far a musician can go.
"This is what IW is saying, 'Let's build their self-esteem, let's teach these young people how to respect, let's teach them how to walk, let's teach them how to approach life,'' he said.
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