Female jazz musicians pave the way for female jazz musicians

Jazz is a male scene in Switzerland, even more so than pop and rock music. This is not only evident on the relevant stages, but also at universities. To counteract this, the association International Female Musicians Collective has set itself the goal. The six founding members are young professional female musicians from Switzerland who want to become role models for future generations. "That younger women also see: Ah, I can do that too," is important to them, emphasizes saxophonist and founding member Fabienne Hoerni. They want to feel less exotic, "but simply be there."

In addition to empowerment as a central theme, the jazz musicians are primarily concerned with networking through joint concerts: "Women already exist - perhaps not primarily in Switzerland." Musicians from Denmark, Germany, France and Norway have joined them for the first tour with a total of ten concerts in German-speaking Switzerland this October.

Playing in an all-female group for the first time was a special experience. "Not because the dynamics or the rehearsal processes are different. But the topics of conversation are definitely different." The female musicians from the Scandinavian countries in particular bring a different wealth of experience with them, not least because their environment is less male-dominated. Another advantage of the international focus was the larger selection of female musicians. This made it possible to find ideal sound combinations for Sarah Chaksad's compositions, which were created especially for the tour.
 

An "aha" effect really does occur when the 16 female musicians fill the stage in the vaulted cellar of Solothurn Hospital to the last millimeter on 17 October: The women create an unusual picture - from very young to gray, from funky to conservative. And they offer big band music that makes you sit up and take notice: With the specific sonority of her pieces, characterized by vocalizations and vibraphone swells, Sarah Chaksad creates an atmospherically swinging, song-like dream world, in which things can also get tough. Complex, chasing rhythms in the themes, which sometimes consist of only a few intervals, tricky tempo changes and devotion in the solos mix the contemporary with echoes of Bernstein, Maria Schneider and smooth jazz. And the idealism that underpins the project can be felt everywhere: in the way the musicians interact with each other and in the joy of making music together. It is transmitted to an enthusiastic and long applauding audience. Unfortunately, there were few young women among them.