The voices of women who've been marginalized, demeaned, abused, and overlooked will no longer be silenced. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have pulled the curtains back on deplorable actions and practices that have run rampant in all corners of society, the jazz world being no exception. With scandals airing out hidden truths at the Berklee College of Music, individual musicians and educators being held accountable for their inexcusable actions the world over, and brave victims speaking out, the tide is slowly turning. Women are banding together in greater numbers, both literally and figuratively, and they're proving what most people with open ears have known all along: they can hit as hard and dig as deep as any of their male counterparts. These are but two of many fine albums to underscore that point.

Lioness
Pride & Joy
Posi-Tone
2019

If there's a line to hang over this release, it's I am woman, hear me roar and rejoice. Marc Free, producer and co-head at Posi-Tone records, brought together six female instrumentalists with serious firepower and vision, and then he set them loose on a program that highlights their composing chops while also shining a light on some respected elders—some present, others dearly departed—of the same sex. Gender, of course, need not be a factor when measuring the quality of the results—it all ranks high by any metric—but the album does play as a corrective which aims to assist in closing a gap on several fronts.

Opening on drummer