Blow that horn, sister! (Divalution).

• Author: Lewis, Andrea

Who is Valaida now and why don't I know about her? I'm asking myself those questions after hearing an excerpt of a radio documentary about Snow, who, in her heyday, was known as "The Queen of the Trumpet" and who even Louis Armstrong called the "second best" trumpeter in the world.

I pride myself on having a pretty good knowledge of jazz history and knowing the names of notable female artists of the genre. So how can it be that I don't know the name of someone who was commended by the greatest figure in the annals of jazz music?

The history of women in jazz--as in many other art forms--is largely unknown, forgotten, or dismissed. Jazz history is unique, however, because it has its share of female icons: Billie, Ella, and Sarah, to name three. But drop the divas from the list, and brain lock sets in. How many music fans can name more than one or two female jazz instrumentalists, composers, or arrangers?

"Jazz is one of the last art forms to recognize the significance of feminism," Angela Davis, professor of history of consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, tells me during a recent phone interview. "It's still very much a masculine project. Jazz women are still considered the exception, and gender segregation is still very much a part of jazz. I think this is significant, particularly since jazz is considered the quintessential American music. It's sort of considered to be the democratic music of America."

In March, Davis, the former Black Panther turned radical academic, led a panel discussion on "Women and Jazz" as part of this year's San Francisco Jazz Spring Season. The festival's artistic director, Joshua Redman, featured a week-long celebration entitled "Jazz Women," which served up a variety of intriguing performances and events in honor of Women's History Month.

One event offered a cinematic tribute entitled "The History of Jazz Women on Film," an evening featuring classic clips of under-recognized greats like electric guitarist Mary Osborne and saxophonist Vi Redd.

Another program featured pianist and former Anthony Braxton Quartet member Marilyn Crispell and her trio, sharing the bill with "free jazz" drummer and composer Susie Ibarra and her quartet. Down Beat magazine called Ibarra "one of the best and brightest drummers to come out of New York (or anywhere) in the last few years."

People often think that" `free jazz' or `free anything' is loud noise or coming from anger," Ibarra told The New York Times back in...