MUSIC MAVENS

Musicians and educators Ashley Walker and Maureen Charles share the life stories and accomplishments of 15 contemporary women of note in the music industry. The co-authors range over genres – pop, rock, rap, jazz, classical, electronic, film, Latin, Native American, Broadway – and spotlight myriad talents and skills: “composing and songwriting, performing and conducting … audio engineering, producing and … rock photography.” Fascinating profiles of Nami Melumad, who has won awards for her scores for films and videogames; Regina Carter, MacArthur genius and jazz innovator; and others reveal women’s increasing presence in the still male-dominated musical sphere. 

Role models for young people are vital. Music Mavens takes inspiring role models and blends their triumphs and challenges into pathways that set a musically interested young person on their journey with a sense of hope - and some very pragmatic life lessons along the way.

Music Mavens: 15 Women of Note in the Industry was a terrific surprise -- nonfiction that reads like a page-turner.

I meant only to skim a few pages and soon I was several chapters in. I've read so many wonderful "women in STEM" books of late, and now here are Ashley Walker and Maureen Charles with an engaging companion title which focuses on women in the arts. Highly recommended for general reading enjoyment but a must-add to school library collections.

What an amazing resource for young people of any identifying gender to learn about the pathways and possibilities of the music industry!  Representation abounds in Music Mavens:  15 Women of Note in the Music Industry.  The trailblazers in this book come from such varied socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds.  The authors, Ashley Walker and Maureen Charles, take care to reveal each person's thought processes and life decisions that led them to where they are, digging beneath the surface and providing more points for readers to empathize, identify and connect with their stories.  Moreover, all aspects of the industry are embodied in these stories, revealing the nuance of the craft, reaching beyond the stories of fame we too often hear about in mainstream media.    

This book makes visible the varied paths, obstacles and triumphs each person faced and their unique journey into finding their purpose, expression, and livelihood in music.  Music Mavens unpacks industry and art form vocabulary seamlessly within each person's narrative. This is no dry textbook--yet as one learns about each person's story, they absorb learning about the art form and profession....Moral of Music Mavens the story: there is a place for everyone in the future of the music industry. Message to youth:  including YOU!  

This collective biography, based on interviews with the subjects conducted by the authors, showcases diverse women in the music industry. As each approachable profile traces the music maven’s career path, influences, and guiding principles, readers will appreciate the range of genres represented, note how few of these women came from musical families, and consider the challenges these women have faced working in a male-dominated industry. While the collection does include singers and performers, such as Janet Dacal (a Cuban American singer on Broadway) and Kaoly Asano (the leading percussionist in Japan’s GOCOO band and founder of a new style of taiko drumming), it also features Irish American beatboxing champion Kaila Mullady, who uses beatboxing skills to help children with speech therapy, and Australian-born and partially sighted Lia Mice, whose work as a musical instrument designer focuses on inclusion. The overall effect is a rich and inspiring mix of talent and career directions. Boxed information lends further accessibility by explaining related terms, genres, and musicians. A playlist featuring each musician wraps up this high-interest volume with educational value. —Angela Leeper

What a difference “Music Mavens” would have made in my life had I read it in my formative years...

“Music Mavens” is full of women who are trailblazers, women who were encouraged by the dominant demographic to go for it even in the face of some nasty disparagers. The most under-the-radar hostility was hurled at beatboxing champ Kaila Mullady. She won in a field that was not, and still is not, female friendly. When she triumphed, the young man she “beat” came over to her and said, “You only won because you’re a girl.” On the flip side of the coin, Kaila was encouraged and mentored by Kid Lucky, a master beatboxer who was secure enough in his talent that he could be generous to Kaila.

The tome has something for everyone, nationally and globally. If relating to human beings simply because they are human is your jam, this book is full of every career you can think of in the music industry, and then some: engineering, composing, music photography, performers, and more. And, if you’re inspired by someone with a similar cultural background like Vietnamese, non-binary, or Latinx, you are in for a massive treat.

Read Ellen's Consider This: Music Mavens column in the Pasadena Weekly.

Super super honored to be a part of this project by Maureen Charles and Ashley Walker and to be surrounded on the page and between the covers of this book by these 14 bad-ass musicians. It’s no secret that the music biz is a boys club. These women are trailblazers and they are my heroes. If you know a girl who plays music — a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, a sister, a friend’s daughter — this is the book for them!

Expanding well beyond vocalists, the authors highlight composers, songwriters, producers, improvisational performers, an instrument designer, and others who have found successful career paths in music. They describe the contributions of those who work behind the scenes in sound engineering, cinematic scoring, and similar pursuits through attention to a globally diverse range of celebrated women in music. Drawing upon interviews with their subjects, Walker and Charles provide an antidote to the erasure that can limit young people’s conceptions of what is possible by centering the achievements of those who inspire, inform, and expand the world of music...