MUSE/IQUE will continue its “Uncorked Series” with a spotlight on female jazz musicians this Monday, November 11, at 7 p.m. at the Avon Distribution Center in Pasadena. The program will open with a screening of the award-winning documentary “The Girls in the Band,” which traces the history of women jazz artists from the 1930s through present day, some of whom faced sexism and racism as they worked to break through a primarily male music scene.
The evening will also include an interactive panel discussion with the film’s director, Judy Chaikin, and some other artists in the film, moderated by MUSE/IQUE’s director and founder, Rachael Worby. The event will be wrapped up nicely by musical interludes performed by some of the current leading ladies of jazz, including saxophonist Mindi Abair. A complimentary pre-concert cocktail hour for ticket holders, with music by an all-female jazz ensemble from Westridge High School in Pasadena, begins at 6 p.m. followed by the 7 p.m. program.
MUSE/IQUE has existed for only two years, yet in this short time it was picked up hundreds of fans and its events have grown to become lovely parties full of art and music that send its audience home happy and inspired. In the fall and spring MUSE/IQUE presents “Uncorked Series” evenings at unconventional locations, while in the summer it features three outdoor concerts at Caltech’s Beckman Mall.
While holding the program at Avon is unconventional, it is also rather becoming to the theme of the night, being that Avon has been for a long time a symbol of female empowerment and is, according to Fortune magazine, the world’s fifth largest cosmetic company with 6.4 million independent sales representatives, primarily female, in more than 140 countries.
Avon is located at 2940 E. Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91121. Ample free parking is available. Tickets are $50 per person. For purchase and more information see www.muse-ique.org or call 626-539-7085.
PHOTO: Two of the fabulous ladies of MUSE/IQUE – Dena Burroughs