The Girls in the Band

Thursday September 18th 6:30 p.m.

They wiggled, they jiggled, they wore low-cut gowns and short shorts. They kow-towed to the club owners and smiled at the customers… and they did it all, just to play the music they loved. THE GIRLS IN THE BAND tells the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 20s to the present day. These incredibly talented women endured sexism, racism and diminished opportunities for decades, yet continue today to persevere, inspire and elevate their talents in a field that seldom welcomed them.

Attending this special screening will be DR. THOM DAVID MASON, who taught the very popular Jazz & Swing from A to Z at Crowell Library earlier this year, and JUDY CHAIKIN, who produced and directed the film. Dr. Mason is the founder of the Jazz Studies Department at the Thornton School of Music, USC, and was so impressed with The Girls in the Band, he’s seen it multiple times. He also knows some of the musicians featured in the film so he will have many insights to share with the audience.

Director/Producer Judy Chaikin is best known for writing, producing and directing the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist. She is a graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. Regarding her film, The Girls in the Band, Judy says, “We hope that the great joy we all had in learning about these amazing women, will be shared by the viewers and that the film will bring these artists the admiration and respect they so rightly deserve. This film is my tribute to their courage and musical artistry, which has never been properly celebrated… Our greatest satisfaction will come if this film can inspire a new crop of young female jazz musicians to stand on the shoulders of those early pioneers and to reach for the stars.”

Crowell Library is very fortunate to have these two guests at this special screening that is free for one and all. Don’t miss it!

John Wood: Life in the Peace Corps

Sunday September 14th 2:00 p.m.

Learn about the adventures experienced by author JOHN WOOD, from the two years he spent teaching high school English in the Philippines when the Friends of Crowell Public Library begin their 2014 Meet the Authors series, Sunday, September 14. A former senior editor at AARP Magazine, John Wood will show slides and relay some amazing tales of his two years in the village of Sibulan working at, "the toughest job you'll ever love."* John grew up in Pasadena, has a degree in journalism from UCLA and has published a plethora of articles for the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Miami Herald. Among his book publications, How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters and a soon-to-be-published title on his experiences during the Vietnam War where he earned a bronze star.

Although times have changed since the Peace Corps' founding in 1961, the agency's mission—to promote world peace and friendship—has not. Today, the Peace Corps is more vital than ever, working in collaboration with partner organizations and using cutting-edge technologies and well-tested best practices to enhance impact. Over 215,000 current and returned volunteers know that the Peace Corps changes lives—both their own and the lives of people in communities around the world. When they return home, like John Wood, they share their stories and experiences and give back to their own communities, helping to strengthen international ties and increase our global competitiveness.

Experience firsthand insight into this special service at 2:00 p.m. in the Barth Community Room, Sunday, September 14th at Crowell Public Library. Other local authors in the Meet the Authors series will include Lynn Snowden and Kyle Sydney Powell (Maezie’s Pumpkin Patch) in October and Susan Rosvall (Silence is Broken) in November. With Friends like these, the authors keep coming at Crowell Public Library.