We’ve all been in other bands, so why did we form Swing 7? Because the gals in the Edith Jones Project seem to have so much fun, and we all live too far from Portland, ME to join them! The Edith Jones Project is an accomplished 17-piece all-female big band, and seeing them inspired Mary to call several friends and say “let’s do this too!” We all got hooked on the different working atmosphere that results from a group of women playing together. What it comes down to is we’re all having a blast!

Aside from this rather self-serving objective, there is a larger cause that we all feel a connection to. Most of us regret not having had good opportunities to learn swing and jazz playing in our formative years. It’s wonderful to see the development of progressive music programs in the schools that try to provide such opportunities to kids. But as mothers, aunts and teachers, we’ve all been dismayed to see so many young girls shy away from jazz band opportunities almost as soon as they have access to them. Indeed, a look at the legions of professional and amateur musicians in this particular genre reveals very few women to serve as role models. We hate to have the younger generation see jazz band as a “boys' sport”. Jazz offers tremendous opportunities for self-expression, confidence-building and personal enjoyment! We want to help spread the word that women can play in this game too!