Evening to toast female musical artists

An evening of songs and stories celebrating female jazz composers of the 20th century is coming to the Brighton Fringe followed by a date at the Steyning Festival.

Women in Jazz features songs from some of the most accomplished and prolific musicians who created hits for the likes of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.

The music is illustrated with archive audio and visuals and interwoven with stories about life as a woman musician in a male-dominated art-form.

The show has been devised by Shoreham-based vocalist Rebecca Askew and features guest soloists, including Charlotte Glasson on sax and flute. Having studied jazz in the 1990s, Rebecca went on to work in a variety of genres including with an awardwinning a capella ensemble and in small and large-scale theatre productions.

Vocalist Rebecca said: “I grew up in a jazz-loving household so I'm returning to my musical roots. Drawing on my many years of experience as a performer, I’ve made a show that is different to a regular jazz gig as we’ll be sharing tales of the struggles and triumphs of the women who created the very music we’ll be playing.

“Women in Jazz will be at The Brunswick in Hove on June 2 and prior to that in the Big Top at the Steyning Festival on May 31. Rebecca is an experienced freelance performer, composer, musical director and theatre maker with a background in jazz and improvised music. • brightonfringe.org/whatson/women-in-jazz-160970/