Anna Mae Winburn

With female jazz musicians as rare as they are, Anna Mae Winburn is doubly unusual. She was not only a member of one of the rare all-female jazz bands in the genre's history, she was the leader of the outfit as well -- promoting her to the incredibly rare status of a female jazz bandleader. The opportunity for this only came about, sadly enough, because the Second World War had removed so many male musicians from circulation. While women in general enjoyed new working opportunities as a result, female jazz players were not about to slouch off either. The International Sweethea...