The Celebration of Women in Jazz

The Celebration of Women in Jazz Concert Series the significant contributions of women composers and musicians within the jazz idiom. This initiative aims to inspire young women to start or continue performing jazz while encouraging music educators to support and guide them in this pursuit. Dr. Molly Redfield’s all-female sextet will host masterclasses for LSU students, collaborate with LSU jazz ensembles, visit schools in Northern Louisiana, and mentor an all-female high school jazz combo comprised of students from various schools across Louisiana. In addition to these educational initiatives, the sextet will engage with the community through a series of free concerts, featuring compositions by members of the ensemble and historical works by underrepresented women composers. By performing these pieces, the project brings visibility to both historical and contemporary women composers. To preserve this program, the sextet will record each piece with an accompanying video so that young women on an international level can both see and hear women artists in jazz, thus fostering a more equitable and diverse community within jazz performance and scholarship.

Dr. Molly Redfield - Bass (https://www.lsu.edu/cmda/music/people/faculty/redfield.php)

Dr. Molly Redfield is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University where she teaches applied lessons, improvisation lessons, conducts the LSU Lab Jazz Band, coaches multiple chamber ensembles, and instructs courses in jazz theory and arranging. She is an established bassist, arranger, and jazz educator. Dr. Redfield maintains an active national performing and touring schedule as a bassist. She has performed with Gerald Clayton, Ingrid Jensen, Allison Miller, Kenny Rampton, and many more. Her most recent recording, “JOIful Noizz” with the Las Vegas Joi Jazz Orchestra can be heard on all streaming devices and reach the top 50 on JazzCharts. Dr. Redfield can also be heard on recordings with Dr. Jennifer Bellor, the Grammy-nominated and American Prize-winning UNLV Wind Orchestra, UNLV Honors Quartet (selected 2019 JEN performers), and DownBeat Magazine, student award winning UNLV Jazz Ensemble I and CSUS 1’oclock Jazz Band. Some of the awards Dr. Redfield has received for her playing include being a selected member 2022 Jazz Education Network, International Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo, awarded the 2017 Outstanding Festival Soloist Award at the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, and awarded the 2016 Outstanding Collegiate Rhythm Section Performer at the Reno International Jazz Festival. As an arranger, Dr. Redfield received a 2021 DownBeat Magazine, Student Music Award for her vocal arrangement of “Moonglow.” Dr. Redfield is dedicated to the jazz education community. She has been invited to present at the LMEA In-Service, Jazz Education Network International Conference, and the Capitol Section CMEA In-Service on her research in teaching the young rhythm section, inclusion of women in jazz studies, and jazz sampling hip-hop. Additionally, Dr. Redfield was the invited conductor of the Montana 2023 Allstate Jazz Ensemble and has adjudicated jazz festivals across the nation.

Kellin Hanas-Trumpet

Hailed in the International Trumpet Guild Journal as “one of the best up and coming jazz musicians on the globe”, 21 year old trumpeter, composer and comedian Kellin Hanas of Wheaton, Illinois is a Jazz Trumpet BM student at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, studying under legendary trumpeters Ingrid Jensen and Scott Wendholt. Currently, Hanas splits her time between being a full-time student, performing artist and educator in New York City, touring with celebrities such as Emmy and Golden Globe Award Winning Actor Darren Criss, 11x GRAMMY Award winning vocal group The Manhattan Transfer, and fashion designer and actor Isaac Mizrahi. She is the leader of her own band, the Kellin Hanas Quintet, which debuted for the first time in the Summer of 2022 in the upstairs of the iconic Birdland Jazz Club in NYC. Alongside her music, Hanas adds a unique touch of comedy into her shows, and has amassed millions of views for her original comedic content, stories and characters. She has worked with venues such as Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has worked with jazz greats such as Sean Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, and Christian McBride. She also is a regular member of the Grace Fox Big Band, and was a featured soloist on the band's debut album "Eleven-O-Seven".

Yeeun Kim

Yeeun Kim is a jazz pianist, arranger, composer, educator, singer-songwriter, and pipe organist from South Korea. She was a Graduate Teaching Fellow for the Jazz Piano Performance at the University of North Texas, where she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance with A.B.D status in Jazz Studies. She earned her master’s degree in Jazz Studies from UNT. Sh…