From Nina Simone to Hiromi: Women Who Transformed Jazz Piano

Written by Tim Richards

For much of jazz history the spotlight has often fallen on male musicians. Yet from the earliest days of the music, women jazz pianists have played a vital role in shaping the sound and development of jazz.

As a piano teacher I frequently ask new students who are their favourite jazz pianists, or even just to name a jazz musician they enjoy listening to. It's noticeable that many of the revered jazz players of the past (and present) are very often men. 

It can seem that either there weren't very many women jazz musicians, or that they have been side-lined or ignored. This is a situation that was very familiar in the 19th century art world, when the profession of artist was not considered suitable for a woman, with female painters being denied admission to academies and prevented from exhibiting their work.

In the early 20th century USA there were however many other good reasons for the lack of female jazz performers. The life of a professional jazz musician was fraught with difficulty, involving constant travel, extremely late working hours, hardly any security and erratic pay. If you were black there were also the challenges of segregation and racism, which meant you could play in a venue but not necessarily eat, drink or sleep there, or even enter by the front door.

Added to this was the frequent presence of drugs, alcohol and the consequent harassment by police. In order to function as a woman in this largely male world you had to be pretty tough. Fortunately, in more recent years the balance has been redressed considerably, with a large number of excellent female pianists making their presence felt.

As part of the JAZZ PIANO LIBRARY series of podcasts for Morley Radio I've recorded three programmes about Women Jazz Pianists, with fellow pianist Joy Ellis as my guest and co-presenter. Over the course of these we've played recordings by pianists dating from the 1920s to the 2020s – the whole history of recorded jazz. 

Below are some of the remarkable artists featured in the series.

Musicians to discover: Women Jazz Pianists

This article introduces the following women in jazz piano

Early Pioneers

Lil' Hardin

In researching them we've been acutely conscious of the lack of female pianists in the early years of the music. If you dig deep enough however, a few surface… Probably the best-known is Lil' Hardin, born in Memphis in 1898 where she learnt classical piano from an early age. By 1918 she was in Chicago where she met trumpeter Louis Armstrong whilst playing in King Oliver's CREOLE JAZZ BAND.

In 1924 they got married and played together in one of the most important groups in jazz history, LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVES, touring and recording until their divorce in 1938. In our first podcast we featured a track by this band from 1925, Lil's composition My Heart – in which she plays a 16-bar piano solo:
Women Jazz Pianists, Part 1: https://morleyradio.co.uk/programmes/jazz-piano-library-ep17

Later she became a bandleader in her own right and worked as house pianist for the Decca record label between 1935 and 1942, touring Europe and continuing to perform music until her death in 1971 aged 73.

Lovie Austin

Almost contemporary with Lil' Hardin was the pianist Lovie Austin, born in 1887, who became session pianist for Paramount records in the 1920s. She formed her own band THE BLUES SERENADERS and teamed up with singers like Ma Rainey and Alberta Hunter, with whom she co-wrote several blues hits.

Although we couldn't find any recorded examples of her playing piano solos as such, her skill as an accompanist was obvious. You can hear her composition Travellin' Blues in our most recent podcast:

Women Jazz Pianists, Part 3: https://morleyradio.co.uk/programmes/jazz-piano-library-ep22

Mary Lou Williams

Although not a well-known name today, Lovie Austin was extremely influential in her day. Our next pianist, Mary Lou Williams cited as her as an important inspiration, saying "she was a fabulous woman and a fabulous musician too…. a greater talent than many of the men of this period."

Mary Lou was born in 1910, a fascinating figure who straddled traditional and modern styles and even became a mentor to some of the great figures in bebop, such as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, who all attended her New York salon in the 1940s. In the first podcast you can hear a composition from her Zodiac Suite, later performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Martha Davis

Many pianists from this era are in danger of being forgotten… An example is Martha Davis (1917-1960), who developed a musical and comedy routine with husband and bassist Calvin Ponder called MARTHA DAVIS AND SPOUSE, appearing in several films and on network TV in the 1940s. There's an impressive video clip on YouTube of her most well-known piece, Martha's Boogie, a stylish and virtuosic performance taken at over 280bpm. You can listen to slightly slower version in our second podcast:

Women Jazz Pianists, Part 2: https://morleyradio.co.uk/programmes/jazz-piano-library-ep20

Hazel Scott

Around the same time, Hazel Scott, born in Trinidad in 1920 and active as a jazz singer in the 1930s brought out her first solo piano album SWINGING THE CLASSICS in 1940. Like Martha Davis she was also known as an expert boogie player, something which was very much in vogue in 1942 when she recorded Hazel's Boogie Woogie. You can hear her lightning-fast left hand on this track in the Part 1 podcast.

In 1950 Hazel became the first black woman to have her own TV show – there are clips on YouTube of her playing two pianos at once, quite the show-woman. She also appeared in five Hollywood movies, consistently refusing stereotypical roles normally offered to black women, such as the maid.

Mid-Century Innovators

Winifred Atwell

While we're on the subject of boogie-woogie, no survey of female jazz pianists is complete without mentioning another pianist born in Trinidad, Winifred Atwell, who emigrated to Britain in 1945 and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music. Despite her classical training it was as a ragtime and boogie performer that she became famous. Her first big hit Cross Hands Boogie sold a million copies in the UK in 1951 – the first time a black artist had achieved this.

Marian McPartland

Another British pianist, Marian McPartland (1918-2013), studied at The Guildhall School of Music but emigrated to the USA in 1946. She made her mark on the New York jazz scene, not only with her playing in a wide range of styles, but also through the long-running radio show that she hosted for over 30 years. This featured interviews and duets with some of the greatest names in jazz, including Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Mary Lou Williams and many others; you can listen to some of these on YouTube.

Nina Simone

Space prohibits me from going into detail of ALL the female pianists featured in the three Womens' History Month podcasts, but out of all of them Nina Simone is perhaps the best known. Born in 1933, her hit recording My Baby Just Cares for Me charted in Britain in 1987. She trained at the Julliard School of Music, where her ambition was to become a classical concert pianist, but she was told that as a black woman this was impossible.

Like her contemporary Aretha Franklin (also an excellent pianist) Nina had a knack of 'owning a song'. Although best known as a singer, she always accompanied herself on piano and could play the blues as well as anyone. In the first podcast we featured three tracks by her, including her version of Billy Taylor's I Wish I Knew How It Feels to be Free, and Central Park Blues, a trio track without vocals.

Roberta Flack

Yet another black soul singer who played excellent piano was Roberta Flack – whose most famous number is Killing Me Softly with His Song. In our third podcast we featured the track Trying Times from her 1969 debut album FIRST TAKE, in which she plays an understated but stylish piano solo. She went on to become one of the few female artists of colour to cut through the prevailing sexism and racism in the music industry and produce her own critically acclaimed albums.

Katie Webster and Marcia Ball

In the blues world mention should be made of Texas-born Katie Webster (1936-1999), an expert boogie player who toured Europe frequently in the 1980s and recorded her best-known album THE SWAMP BOOGIE QUEEN in 1988. And in New Orleans, Marcia Ball continued the tradition of Professor Longhair and James Booker with her raunchy vocals and dynamic piano style – check out the tracks we feature from her 1985 album HOT TAMALE BABY in the third podcast.

Dorothy Donegan and Blossom Dearie

USA pianists born in the twenties that we featured tracks by include Dorothy Donegan (1922-1998) and Blossom Dearie (born 1924), the latter performing frequently in London at Pizza on the Park until her death in 2009.

Contemporary Voices

Toshiko Akiyoshi

An interesting case was Japanese pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi (born 1929), who was inspired to play jazz after hearing the pianist Teddy Wilson. By the age of 24 she achieved the remarkable feat of developing a style uncannily similar to that of bebop virtuoso Bud Powell. Oscar Peterson heard her in a Tokyo jazz club in 1953 and was so impressed that he organised a record date with his trio, and in 1955 she was offered a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music.

Toshiko subsequently emigrated to the USA and formed a big band with saxophonist Lew Tabackin that released several albums, receiving 14 Grammy nominations. In the 1980s she became the first woman to receive the Downbeat Readers Poll award for 'Best Arranger and Composer'.

Shirley Horn and Diana Krall

In the second half of the 20^th century more and more female pianists came forward. Some, like Shirley Horn (1934-2005), mainly performed as vocalists, but nevertheless impressed with their piano skills. More recently, Canadian vocalist Diana Krall has achieved a large following without side-lining the piano, her performances always featuring some improvised solos.

Eliane Elias

The same could be said of Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias who first gained notoriety in the early 1980s with the New York jazz fusion band STEPS AHEAD. Alongside strong jazz credentials she maintains a strong connection with the music of her homeland – one of her early Blue Note albums was ELIANE ELIAS PLAYS JOBIM, a piano trio with Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Eddie Gomez (bass) – featured in the first podcast. Nowadays she is frequently heard singing as well as playing material by Jobim and other Brazilian composers.

Beegie Adair and Judy Carmichael

Other excellent pianists who remained committed to instrumental music without vocals include session pianist Beegie Adair (1937-2022), a popular mainstream stylist with scores of albums to her name, and Judy Carmichael (born 1957), who specialises in a more traditional 'stride' piano style – check out her playing a couple of Fat Waller compositions in the third podcast.

Alice Coltrane

Many of the pianists that follow could be considered modernists by comparison. Alice Coltrane (1937-2007) came to prominence when she appeared on recordings by her husband, the hugely influential saxophonist John Coltrane, successfully applying his 'sheets of sound' concept to the piano, and after his death recording on the harp too.

Joanne Brackeen and Jessica Williams

Joanne Brackeen (born 1938) and Jessica Williams (1948- 2022) are two important pianists who should be better known – you can hear their incredibly creative playing on several tracks in the first and second podcasts.

Patrice Rushen, Geri Allen and Lynne Arriale

Pianists born in the 1950s include Patrice Rushen, Geri Allen and Lynne Arriale. Rushen can sound uncannily like Herbie Hancock and has achieved commercial success as an R&B vocalist (receiving a Grammy nomination in 1982 for her song Forget me Nots) as well in the jazz fusion field. Geri Allen (1957-2016) studied with Kenny Barron in the 1980s and went on to perform with important figures such as Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman and David Murray. Be sure to check out her lovely composition The Gathering, featured in the second podcast, from her 1998 album of the same name.

Lynne Arriale released her first album in 1993 is still touring and recording. Her 2015 album LYNNE ARRIALE TRIO LIVE shows her assimilation of modern jazz piano idioms first developed by McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea, coupled with a love of Latin and Calypso rhythms.

Renee Rosnes

The next generation of pianists includes the Canadian Renee Rosnes (born 1962) who studied at the University of Toronto and moved to New York in 1986. The following year she got an amazing break, joining saxman Joe Henderson on a tour of Europe, Japan and the USA. Work with the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra followed, not to mention playing with Wayne Shorter, Dizzy Gillespie, Branford Marsalis and others.

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

In 1991 a pianist from Azerbaijan burst onto the jazz scene with the release of her debut album, the eponimously titled Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. Here was someone who sounded different, combining as she does Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett influences with a virtuosic classical technique and elements of the traditional 'mugham' improvisational sound of Azerbaijan. You can hear some of her music in podcast number 3 – check out the exotic sound world of Dance of Fire, a track she recorded with guitarist Al Dimeola.

Hiromi

Hiromi is another pianist, this time from Japan, who has forged an impressive career playing complex compositions with an astounding technique. Born in 1979, she started piano at the age of 6, being introduced to jazz 2 years later. Aged 17, already a virtuoso, she met Chick Corea by chance in Tokyo and was invited to play at his concert the next day… We played a track from her 2014 trio album ALIVE to round off our first 'Women in Jazz' Podcast.

Kris Davis

Our third podcast ended with a track by her near contemporary, the Canadian Kris Davis. Born in Vancouver and studying jazz at the University of Toronto, she now has over 25 albums in her discography, leads an incredible trio with Robert Hurst on bass and teaches at the Berklee School of Music.

Women Jazz Pianists in the UK

Nikki Iles and Andrea Vicari

In Britain today there are now so many great female pianists it's hard to know who to choose. We've selected tracks by the versatile Nikki Iles (born 1963), who recently became principal conductor of Hamburg's NDR BIG BAND and was awarded the British Empire medal in 2022 for services to music. Her near contemporary Andrea Vicari is another extremely active bandleader, composer and educator who teaches on the jazz course at London's Trinity College of Music.

Joy Ellis

Composer, singer, pianist and educator Joy Ellis, my co-presenter for all three podcasts, is an active performer and recording artist on the UK jazz scene with an individual sound. She is currently researching the subject of women in jazz for her PhD – I owe her a big thank you for her help in planning and presenting these programmes.

Kate Williams, Alcyona Mick, and Zoe Rahman

Other British pianists we have featured include Kate Williams, Alcyona Mick and Zoe Rahman, all busy performers with their own individual styles. We feel we're just beginning to scratch the surface; each podcast introduces us to new names and makes us aware of the many female pianists we must have overlooked!

The future of women in jazz piano

To bring this blog up to date I'll finish by mentioning the Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs, the New York-based Helen Sung and the French keyboard wizard DOMi – who all released ground-breaking albums in the 2020s. 

Compared with a century ago, the landscape of jazz piano has changed dramatically. Today there are more women jazz pianists performing, recording and teaching than ever before.

From pioneers such as Lil' Hardin and Mary Lou Williams to contemporary artists like Hiromi and Kris Davis, women continue to shape the future of jazz piano.

Recommended Listening

Click on the images below to listen to each podcast in full and access the tracklist for each episode:

Jazz Piano Library, Ep 17: Women Jazz Pianists, Part 1	Jazz Piano Library, Ep 20: Women Jazz Pianists, Part 2	Jazz Piano Library, Ep 22: Women Jazz Pianists, Part 3

Want to discover more music from the women mentioned in today's article? Why not check out our Spotify playlist!