Sunday 8 March is International Women’s Day – and we have three female-fronted shows this weekend. So we asked each act three questions about what being a woman in music means to them.
Josienne Clarke Sings Sandy Denny: Friday 6 March
Josienne Clarke is a British singer-songwriter who brings the music of iconic singer Sandy Denny to life
Q1: What inspired you to honour Sandy Denny? What is it about her that moves you and/or that you think is important for women to understand? What can her life experience teach us?
There is no other artist who has had as much influence on my creative output. Since I first heard Sandy’s music, I found its nostalgic melancholy so relatable, even as a teenager. She’s one of the greatest songwriters this country has ever produced. Her writing is wise and timeless and ranks alongside Cohen and Dylan in my estimations. Women can be and are songwriting geniuses too, even if the industry is reticent to give them their due.
Q2. How do you think storytelling through song can create space for women’s voices and lived experiences?
Women’s writing has often been considered a niche genre when it comes to art. I think that writing about and performing songs of female experience is in itself an act of resistance. The more of us who write and sing about our lives the more normalised it becomes. We get to see our true and lived experience reflected in the world around us and the hope is that we can in turn carry less unrealistic expectation, fear and shame.
Q3. Which other women in music have shaped the way you navigate your creative life or sense of artistic independence?
PJ Harvey, Sharon Van Etten, Marisa Nadler and of course Taylor Swift. Their existence and creative output serves to prove that women can make great work and continuing making it on their own terms throughout their lives just as men have for centuries.
Josienne Clarke
Nikki Iles (second left) and Claire Martin (second right)
Claire Martin OBE & Nikki Iles from IG4: Saturday 7th March
Both leading and well-respected jazz musicians, Claire (vocalist) and Nikki (composer & pianist) are currently performing in a brand new project
Q1. Jazz has such a rich history shaped by remarkable women, often without the recognition they deserved. How have female musical pioneers influenced your own musical journeys?
Claire: I am inspired and influenced by many female musicians in the music industry, not just in the jazz world. Sadly, so many have not had the recognition they deserve but have kept going. For instance Joni Mitchell, who is a big heroine of mine, for her integrity, perseverance and the confidence to call it out during the course of her long career. Going back as far as Ella Fitgerald’s early life and her determination to keep Chick Webb’s big band going and being the first female big band leader; there are so many great women to draw inspiration from. Shirley Horn who is again one of my absolute favourites who steered her career her way and had a wonderful late bloom which was acclaimed worldwide. These are the stories that I always think of.
Nikki: There were so few women when I was coming up in the 1980s – on albums, documented in the history books and women playing live and even less as leaders. But there were a few very significant women that really made me believe it is possible. First and foremost , I met Norma Winstone when I was 18, and she was and always has been totally herself; uncompromising, honest, daring and respected by all. That hit home as a way to be and navigate the music scene. Also for similar reasons, Carla Bley, Geri Allen, Joanne Bracken, Joni Mitchel and Shirley Horn had a big impact on me.
Q2. Over the course of your career, how have you seen opportunities for women in jazz evolve — both on stage and behind the scenes?
Claire: I have seen and sung with big bands that have gradually added female instrumentalists over the last few years, and it’s a breath of fresh air, as for many years I sang in big bands with only men. Opportunities at the academys for music are attracting more women and overall I feel positive that it’s becoming a more even playing field. I have worked behind the scenes as a curator of jazz festivals and see this as a very positive thing as I can book female headliners and be mindful of gender equality at every turn. It’s changing – slowly, but it’s changing.
Nikki: There is still a way to go, but things are so much better than in my youth. The optimum word is ‘opportunity ‘ here. Without the opportunity to for x, for me, nobody gave me an opportunity to conduct or write more for big band ..so when the NDR chief conductor job was offered , I wasn’t sure if I should take it as I hadn’t had the experience most men had had ..I’m glad I took it ! There are more jazz photographers that are women , and women headlining in festivals. But sadly in 2026 I am still the first women at the NDR in Hamburg ( like the BBC) that is the chief of any ensemble…classical and jazz !
Q3. What does it mean to you, at this stage in your careers, to continue creating and performing as part of a lineage of strong female voices in music?
Claire: I think it means the same as it always has done, I try to become a better musician with every gig I do and surround myself with the best players possible. It’s an honour and a privilege to be a musician and definately a marathon and not a sprint for me. I’m very proud to share the stage with Nikki Iles and Karen Sharp as we have all come up at the same time on the jazz scene so we can share our experiences together and that’s very rewarding for me. It’s also a great message to younger female musicians as I am a great believer in you have to ‘see it to be it’ school of thought and I hope we can inspire the younger generation of players.
Nikki: I have never felt like a “ women in jazz.” I’ve always been one of the “ musicians.” This has been important for me to not have a negative outlook or feel like a victim. I want to work hard to be the best version of myself, however I know as an older women who’s still trying to grow and who is still very active in the music business that I’m very happy to be an example to young women ( and young men ) and that it’s possible to have a good and fulfilling career in music.