Jazz Film Night 2026
The GIRLS in the Band documentary screening
Date: Thursday, June 11
Time: 7:00 p.m. Dessert Reception
8:00 p.m. Film Screening
followed by Filmmaker Q&A
Location: Northampton Center for the Arts
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA
Tickets: $15 in advance; $20 at the door
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 20's 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.
“It’s a cultural travesty that the women of early jazz . . . have become a neglected footnote in music history, but Judy Chaikin’s well-researched, buoyantly entertaining documentary portrait could be the corrective.”
– Aaron Hillis, The Village Voice
About the Production
A Feature Documentary
An Artist Tribe/One Step Production
Producer/Director - Judy Chaikin
Executive Producer - Michael Greene
Producers - Nancy Kissock, Michael Greene, Hugh Hefner
Director/Producer/Writer: Judy Chaikin
Judy Chaikin is a graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women
Judy Chaikin is a graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and is best known for writing, producing and directing the Emmy nominated PBS documentary, Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist.
In 2004, she received her second Emmy nomination for the documentary Building on a Dream and directed and co-wrote the short romantic-comedy film, Cotillion ’65, which has appeared in 40 film festivals winning Best Short, Best Comedy, Best Director and Audience Choice Awards. In 1996, Ms. Chaikin won the Blue Ribbon at the American Educational Film and TV Festival for the docudrama, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman, featuring Julie Harris.
Executive Producer/Producer: Michael Greene
Michael Greene, President/CEO of The Artist Tribe LLC
Greene is a veteran of the Entertainment, Fine Arts, Communications and Media Development industries.
Greene began his career as a recording artist/songwriter with Warner Brothers, Mercury and GRC Recording companies. He worked with artists such as Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar, Kansas and a host of other top artists. In 1988 Greene became the first President/CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the organization that produces the Grammy Awards. Greene served as CEO for 14 years.
The Northampton Jazz Festival sponsors an annual Jazz Film Night, which includes a reception and a Q & A with the director and others associated with the film.
