Pioneering Female Jazz Trombonist Dies at 96

Helen Jones Woods, a member of the World War II-era big band International Sweethearts of Rhythm, died on July 25, 2020, of COVID-19 at the age of 96. Acclaimed as the “first Freedom Riders” by jazz pianist Earl Hines, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm broke gender and racial barriers during World War II and the Jim Crow Era by traveling through the USA and Europe. Woods was also a member of the Omaha Symphony, “only to be fired after her first performance.” – NPR

This article was originally published in NPR on August 5, 2020.

Photo Credit: Kathleen Fallon/Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution