Stacy Rowles on the role of women in jazz

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Jazz musician Stacy Rowles, who died Oct. 27, spent a good part of her career playing in all-female groups such as Maiden Voyage and the Jazz Birds. In a 1995 interview in The Times, she discussed the reasons such groups existed.

‘It doesn’t bother me. In fact [all-female bands] are, sadly, still a necessity at this point,’ Rowles said. ‘It shouldn’t make a difference what sex you are as long as you’re a good musician. But there are still some people who do discriminate. It can be a vicious cycle.

‘You have to be hired to get experience, but you can’t get hired unless you have experience. Breaking through is the difficult part.’

-- Keith Thursby