Aussie stars in limelight at International Women's Jazz Festival

While singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday may be among the biggest female names in jazz, traditionally there aren't many women known for writing or playing jazz music.

But women are breaking new ground. The inaugural Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival is featuring some of Australia's rising stars. They are not just tickling the ivories, but writing the tunes.

Cuban-born, Brisbane-based Marialy Pacheco arranges popular songs from her homeland.

“I always like compositions, so I always like to do my own thing, and I think that's the start of getting into jazz that is mostly improvising and mostly being yourself and being creative,” says Ms Pachecho.

She is challenging not just industry stereotypes, but cultural stereotypes as well.

“It is hard, just because of the cliches. For example, when you are Cuban you are supposed to be dancing and singing and I get it all the time,” she told SBS.

“People assume things, they assume I am a singer all the time or an actress or anything, but not a piano player. You probably have to prove twice as much that you are great.”

She was the first female to win the solo piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival this year.

And there are others making their mark in jazz in increasingly significant ways, not just as pianists and singers but as composers and instrumentalists.

Australians such as double-bass player Hannah James, composer Andrea Keller, and vocal improviser Gian Slater are just some of the women breaking through in a new jazz environment.

“There's been a focus certainly here in Australia where we've been trying to focus our energies on nurturing young women as they are coming through their music studies so that they can learn to improvise in a safe environment with other women,” says Amy Curl of the Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival.

“And we've certainly seen that's had a very beneficial result,” she added.

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