Call for Proposals

"Sophie’s Parlor Politics: 40 Years of Women in Radio"

A conference sponsored by the women of Sophie’s Parlor

Saturday - March 10, 2012

Sophie's Parlor Women's Radio Collective will be presenting special programming to honor the Fortieth Anniversary of the collective. We are planning to celebrate Women's History Month by hosting a weekend of music and dialogue featuring local artists, music experts, and female radio programmers. This event is in honor of International Women's Day (March 8th), Women's History Month (March), Sophie’s founders and alumnae, and female musicians, artists, and activists who have collaborated with Sophie’s over the years.

Sophie’s Parlor is the oldest continuously running women’s music radio collective in the United States. Founded in 1972 at Georgetown University, Sophie’s has been a part of the Pacifica Network on WPFW, 89.3 FM in Washington, D.C. since 1977. Sophie’s Parlor presents an eclectic mix of women’s music from around the world every Thursday from 1-3 pm. Additionally, we host and produce compelling discussions on women’s issues ranging from music, to domestic violence, to health, to social justice.

We invite scholars, artists, activists, and professionals to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, papers, or exhibits. [NOTE: Individuals submitting papers for consideration must be prepared to present a speech/synopsis of the paper in panel sessions rather than merely reading the paper aloud.]

The first half of the conference will be focused on women and the arts/music. The second half will focus on women’s social and political issues.

Deadline – January 15, 2012

Proposals should be submitted to:

sophiesparlor@gmail.com

(electronic submissions only please)

Please include a short description of each presentation and a one-page c.v. for each presenter.

We are looking forward to a fabulous conference!

Sincerely,

The Women of Sophie’s Parlor

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International Sweethearts of Rhythm in the DC area!

GREAT Free Jazz & Women’s History Month event as part of Smithsonian’s JAM on Weds, March 30 at Artisphere.

A pioneering all-female, interracial big band enjoyed world-acclaim in the 1940s, and had significant local ties to Arlington and DC. “A Women in Jazz Tribute to the International Sweethearts of Rhythm” features several surviving original band members in a panel discussion at Artisphere on Wednesday, March 30, followed by a swing dance featuring the all-female Leigh Pilzer/Jen Krupa Quintet. This event is FREE and open to the public. A detailed press release is attached.

Broadcasting entrepreneur Cathy Hughes (Radio One), a descendant of one of the Sweethearts members, will lead a panel discussion called “Jazz and Civil Rights,” focusing on the Sweethearts importance as a multi-cultural, all-female aggregation that toured not only the Jim Crow South, but also a six-month European tour which included the first African-American women to tour with the USO during WWII. Excerpts will be screened from Judy Chaikin’s upcoming documentary, Girls in the Band (see clip). This event is offered as part of the 10^th annual Smithsonian Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) program, which is focused on the legacies of jazz women, and their advocates, who helped transform race, gender and social relations in the U.S. in the quest to build a more just and equitable nation.

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, founded in 1937 at the Piney Woods Country Life School in Piney Woods, Mississippi, will be the focus of the JAM Launch, a museum display and special online and public programming offered by the National Museum of American History to highlight the unique legacy of the school that music built and their dynamic, women's jazz band.

Laurence C. Jones founded the Piney Woods Country Life School for poor and African American children in 1910. In the early 1920s, he supported the school by sending an all-girl vocal group on the road. Following that success, in 1937 he formed the Swinging Rays of Rhythm, an all-girl band led by Consuela Carter. Around 1941, the band settled in Arlington, Virginia, where there was a wealthy Virginian who provided support for them. Members from different races, including Latina, Asian, Caucasian, Black, Indian and Puerto Rican, lent the band an "international" flavor, and the name International Sweethearts of Rhythm was given to the group. At one Howard Theater show, the band set a new box office record of 35,000 patrons in one week of 1941. In 1944 the band was named "America's #1 All-Girl Orchestra" by Downbeat magazine. They enjoyed an enormous following among the African-American audiences playing "battle-of-the-bands" concerts against bands led by Fletcher Henderson and Earl Hines. During World War II, letter-writing campaigns from overseas African American soldiers demanded them, and in 1945 the band embarked on a six-month European tour, which made the band’s African-American members the first black women to travel with the USO.

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm made two coast-to-coast tours in their bus. As a racially mixed band, they defied the Jim Crow laws of the South. The white women in the band wore dark makeup on stage to avoid arrest. Despite being stars around the country, when the band traveled in the South all of the members ate and slept in the bus because of the segregation laws that prevented them from using restaurants and hotels. The first white musicians joined in 1943. There were also several lesbians in the band, including Tiny Davis, whose sexuality was later the subject of Schiller and Weiss' documentary, Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women. Ms. Davis had to turn down the opportunity to tour again with the band in 1946. This, along with other lineup changes, led to the band folding in 1949.

Despite the impact of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm being repeatedly ignored in popular histories of jazz, the band enjoyed a resurgence in popularity among feminists in the 1960s and 70s. The band was among the first marketed as women's music. In 2004 the Kit McClure Band released The Sweethearts Project on Redhot Records. It is a tribute album recorded entirely with an all-female band using only songs the Sweethearts recorded.

Offering small-group jazz with big-band spirit, the Leigh Pilzer/Jen Krupa Quintet is inspired by duo collaborations such as those of Gerry Mulligan and Bob Brookmeyer, J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding, and Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. With Jen on trombone and Leigh on baritone and soprano saxophones and roster of world-class rhythm section members their repertoire ranges from standards to originals. Jen, Leigh, and the rest of the group have played with big bands including the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and DC-area military jazz ensembles.

ABOUT ARTISPHERE
Artisphere is a new breed of urban arts center that features four distinct performance venues, three visual art galleries, a 4,000 square foot ballroom, a free Wi-Fi Town Hall and HERE, a restaurant and bar. Artisphere’s wide array of programming is as diverse as its audience, ranging from contemporary visual art, Shakespeare, late-night DJs, and multi-cultural film fests to spoken word, chamber music, family programs and swing and salsa dancing. Artisphere is located at 1101 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia, two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro (blue/orange) and within walking distance of Georgetown. Artisphere is open Monday through Friday from 11am to 11pm; Saturday from 11am to 2am and Sunday from 11am to 6pm. Admission to Artisphere and all its visual art galleries is free; there is a cost for ticketed events. Artisphere is pleased to offer its patrons free parking evenings after 5pm and on weekends. Artisphere is wheelchair accessible. Sign-language interpreters available on request for events; two weeks advance notice requested; TTY: 703-228-1855.For more information about Artisphere and its wide array of programming, visit www.artisphere.com.

Artisphere has six arts organizations in residence— Aurora Opera Theatre, Artisans Center of Virginia, Fashion Fights Poverty, National Chamber Ensemble, UrbanArias and the Washington Shakespeare Company. Artisphere’s retail gallery is curated by the Artisans Center of Virginia.

For more information about this FREE event, THE PUBLIC may call 703-875-1100, or visit www.artisphere.com . For more detailed information, images or interview requests, THE MEDIA is asked to contact me, Jim Byers, Marketing Director, Arlington Cultural Affairs at 703-228-1847, or email jbyers@arlingtonva.us , or Artisphere’s Director of Communications and Marketing, Annalisa Meyer, at 703-875-1124, or at AMeyer@arlingtonva.us

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Who Does She Think She Is?

Celebrating the accomplishments of women who dared to dream and dared to DO! 1-3 PM on WPFW.org or 89.3 FM in Washington, DC. Join me! (I hope I get to play them all - I'll have to talk fast...)

Heleeene's Playlist:

Change the World, Magdalen Hsu-Li, Smashing the Ceiling
The Mermaid, Mari Boine, In the Hand of the Night
Chachimurenga, Stella Chiweshe, Talking Mbira
Spring, Heather Rigdon, Young & Naïve
Electro Reading, Syntheme, Lasers 'n' S**t
Summertime (Live), Janis Joplin, Cheap Thrills / I Got Dem 'Ol
Kozmic Blues Again Mama! / Pearl
Shamrock Green, Susan McKeown, Sweet Liberty
On the Sunny Side of the Street, Billie Holiday, The Very Best of Billie Holiday
Vul'indela, Brenda Fassie, Greatest Hits: The Queen of African Pop
Have a Little Faith In Me/Patty Larkin/Rollin' into Memphis: Songs of John Hiatt
Ko Te Ao Marama, Mahinarangi Tocker, The Mongrel In Me
They Say It's Spring, Erin McKeown, Sing You Sinners
To the East, Electrelane, No Shouts, No Calls
Mysterious Ways, Angélique Kidjo, In the Name of Love –
Africa Celebrates U2
Mfan' Omncane, Dorothy Masuka, Women of Africa
Here Comes the Sun, Nina Simone, The Very Best of Nina Simone:
Sugar in My Bowl (1967-1972)
Demons, Yo La Tengo, Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo
Life Begins At Forty, Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red Hot Mamas
Riti, Saulit, Ritedama, Ilgi, Riti
Zen, Rokia Traoré, Tchamantché
Ain't Misbehavin', Carmen McRae, 20th Century Masters - The Millennium
Collection: The Best of Carmen McRae
La Sopa en Botella, Celia Cruz & La Sonora Matancera, The Best of Celia Cruz
I'm Glad There Is You, Natalie Cole, Ask a Woman Who Knows
Spring, Ursula Rucker, Supa Sista (Limited Edition)
My Head May Be Small, But My Heart Is Bigger Than Yours - Neotropic,
Riz Maslen, Bip-Hop Generation Vol. 3
Sassy's Blues, Sarah Vaughan, Verve Jazz Masters
Springtime #2, Venus Hum, Big Beautiful Sky
Will Your Lawyer Talk to God? Kitty Wells, 20th Century Masters - The
Millennium Collection: Best of Kitty Wells
Four Loom Weaver, Maddy Prior & June Tabor, Silly Sisters
Daughters of the Kaos, Luscious Jackson, In Search of Manny
Feelin' Good, Carmen McRae, Women Talk (Remastered)

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