I really like the singing voice. I really like the voice in general. But I also really like instruments and I really like a lack of a text in music. So I'm often dismayed by the lack of women who don't sing. I listen to a lot of jazz, and it's still predominantly played and written by men. "Pop" music gets a pass because the vocal is the most consistent part of, so pretty much everyone sings, male or female. Though even in pop music, most of the nonsinging women in rock bands are bass players. Where are the women thrashers and tom smashers?



"Classical" music has no lack of female nonsingers. From my unscientific survey of the soloists I've seen in my life, women and men seem about evenly split. But I want more female jazz players.

I was delighted to find 12 Songs by Jenny Scheinman in my collection. I must have read a review sometime and picked up the record but somehow never listened to it. I was browsing my collection and found it late last night, put it in, and was hooked from the first few bars. Scheinman is a violinist who has been making the rounds through the improv New York scene for years and has been wowing audiences (what a terrible expression) all over the world at jazz festivals. But this record is hardly a jazz record. Scheinman writes that she composed all of the pieces quickly and purposely avoided over thinking anything. The result finds us moving from dirges to marches to carnival music to avant-garde jazz (whatever that means). It reminds me of Tin Hat Trio, but with more improvisation and Bill Frisell on guitar.

Aparetly Scheinman also sings, and has a record out now with a mix of American traditional mixed with a few originals. Her voice is nice enough, but it's her playing and her composing that make her special. But even here there's only one other the other female player in her seven person band, the wonderful Rachelle Garniez (on accordian mostly)



(how did I not know I had this record?!)