Thinking of the greatest female jazz musicians of all times, singers like Ella Fitgerald or Billie Holiday often come to mind. But what about famous female jazz instrumentalists? Unfortunately, the genre has historically not been the most inclusive space for women, especially for those who aren’t vocalists. 

One 23-year-old Philly native has spent the last decade on a mission to change that. Olivia Hughart, a saxophonist and jazz composer, is the director of Key of She Jazz, an organization dedicated to bringing greater representation to the genre. This Sunday, the nonprofit is hosting one of its regular jazz jams, a free and open workshop for young artists of all levels to come and practice their musical chops.

“We lead these jam sessions with a lot of intention to make sure that everyone feels included and heard,” Hughart said. “Everyone gets a chance to play. It’s for all skill levels, all genders, all ages. It’s one of the most diverse jam sessions that I’ve ever seen. Period.”

Hughart created Key of She Jazz with her mother when she was just 12 years old after noticing there were very few other girls in her middle school jazz band. The goal was to create a space for young women in music. Since then, she’s built a female-forward youth community around jazz.

This Sunday’s jam is being led by the Grace Fox Big Band, a 16-piece ensemble made up of collegiate-level performers (Hughart herself is a member). Fox, the founder of the band, is a trumpet player and composer with a degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

“Grace does a fantastic job of including people of all voices,” Hughart said. “In the band we have people that are transgender. We have a lot of people that are nonbinary and queer and very open about it … I think a young student that does identify with the queer community would feel so heard and welcome, because it’s rare when you’re in a room full of people that are openly queer.”

Full schedule for event

The day will include an open jam session, group workshops, a talk on women in music and an hour-long set from the big band. Although the organization does focus on young women and nonbinary kids, parents are welcome and students of any gender are invited to participate and explore their own personal styles.

“Jazz is really the realm where you can step outside the page and you’re actually given a lot of freedom to interact with one another by using your instrument as your voice,” Hughart said. “Classical music is amazing and any music that a child is involved in is fantastic, but I do think that jazz has that special extra little something that gets students thinking outside the box, when ordinarily they are encouraged to stay in one.”

By bringing gender into the equation and encouraging young girls to participate in jazz, Hughart believes Key of She is actually taking the focus off gender.

“When you’re in a room full of other women and girls in jazz, you don’t feel like the novelty or the token piece,” she said. “Even as a musician myself, I’ve been told so many times, ‘Oh, you sound really great for a girl. Oh, you only got that opportunity because you’re a girl,’ ” she explained. “It’s a novelty to have a woman in jazz on the stage still.”

Luckily, Hughart says that she’s seen progress in her own jazz community since Key of She started. Hughart recently graduated from New York University with a major in jazz studies. She lives in New York, but younger students have stepped up in her absence and continued to lead jams in the area.

“I’ve already seen an impact,” she said.  “Other girls being passed down this experience of Key of She and how meaningful it has been for them.”

Come on down!

The Key of She Jazz Jam is taking place this Sunday, March 2, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Settlement Music School on Germantown Avenue. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.

“I encourage everyone to come out because it takes a village to create any sort of change,” Hughart said. “I’m a woman in jazz speaking to other women in jazz about how there aren’t enough women in jazz. So they all agree and they see the issue.”

“But it also takes people who aren’t women in jazz,” she added. “So I would encourage anyone that supports the mission of seeing more women in jazz and making them feel more supported to come to this event.”

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