Music > Jazz Archives - Infinite Women

Anne Bushnell

Irish blues and jazz singer

Peggy Gilbert

Pioneering figure in the world of jazz and an advocate for women in music.

Felipa Graciela Pérez y Gutiérrez

Celebrated Cuban-American singer known for her enchanting performances in Cuban music and Latin jazz.

Alice Coltrane

Luminary in both the world of American jazz and Hindu spirituality.

Ottilie Patterson

Irish blues and jazz singer

Jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn was one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation. With her distinctive voice and the slow pace of her music, Horn had a long and storied career which touched both national and international audiences.

Mary Lou Williams

One of the greatest jazz pianists, composers, and arrangers of all time, Mary Lou Williams was a swing and bebop icon. “The Lady Who Swings the Band” also devoted herself to aiding musicians in need and teaching younger generations about jazz’s rich African American heritage.

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. As a pianist, bandleader, and composer-arranger, Akiyoshi cemented her place as one of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century.

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald, known as “The First Lady of Song,” was a revolutionary American jazz singer who performed all over the world. Her signature style included her iconic vocal range, clear tone and ability to improvise with her hallmark scat singing. Her many awards and accolades are a reflection of the colossal inspiration she was to many.

Nina Simone

“The High Priestess of Soul,” Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Mostly known as a jazz singer, her music blended gospel, blues, folk, pop, and classical styles. No popular singer was more closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement than Simone.