And here we are: welcome to the second part of my journey through Bologna!
As I quickly realised during my stay, one chapter would never have been enough to celebrate all the extraordinary women who make this city’s musical and jazz scene so vibrant and alive. Every concert, every conversation, and every new encounter led me to another artist whose story deserved to be told and heard.
Truthfully, probably not even two chapters would be enough…
But perhaps that is the true magic of jazz: knowing that there will always be another extraordinary jazzwoman to discover, another story to listen to, another musical and human connection waiting to be born.
Rather than marking the end of this journey, this second chapter simply represents another step along the way.
And… I have the feeling we’re only halfway there.
So… let’s continue!
Let me introduce you to a few more extraordinary women who made this journey unforgettable. 🌹
Beyond boundaries
Cristina Zavalloni & Chiara Pancaldi
The first thing that struck me when I met Cristina Zavalloni and Chiara Pancaldi was seeing how they embody two profoundly different, yet equally authentic, ways of giving voice to jazz.
Cristina’s artistic universe is a constant invitation to exploration. Moving effortlessly between jazz, contemporary music, opera, theatre, and composition, she reminds us that creativity flourishes precisely when we find the courage to move beyond categories. Every one of her projects reflects an artist who has never been afraid to follow her own curiosity.
Chiara, on the other hand, captivates with elegance and extraordinary sensitivity. Deeply rooted in the jazz tradition while always remaining unmistakably herself, she represents that rare balance between refinement, authenticity, and expressive sincerity.
Meeting them reminded me that there is no single way of being a jazzwoman. Every artistic journey is unique, and it is precisely this diversity that makes this community so rich and inspiring.
Different paths, the same passion
Francesca Tandoi & Eloisa Atti
Although they have followed very different artistic paths, Francesca Tandoi and Eloisa Atti share something that becomes immediately apparent: a profound love for music and a distinctive artistic identity.
Francesca’s performances combine virtuosity, elegance, and an infectious sense of swing that has taken her to stages all over the world. Her music reflects an artist capable of combining technical refinement, sensitivity, and an extraordinary natural ability to communicate with her audience.
Eloisa, on the other hand, has built a completely personal artistic path, moving naturally between jazz, folk, Americana, and singer-songwriter traditions. Her music is intimate, sincere, and deeply rooted in storytelling, reminding us that artistic identity is something we continue to shape throughout our lives.
Different musical languages, perhaps.
But the same passion for sharing something authentic.
The beauty of dialogue
Francesca Alinovi & Beatrice Lenzini
Some encounters remind us that music is, above all, a conversation.
Meeting Francesca Alinovi and Beatrice Lenzini, the two artists behind the Wrong Sisters, was one of those moments. Their project moves naturally between jazz, soul, blues, and other musical influences, creating a distinctive musical language in which different worlds coexist. Francesca’s jazz sensibility intertwines with Beatrice’s artistic journey, giving life to an authentic dialogue that has also found a special place within Bologna’s jazz scene, where the Wrong Sisters are now a much-appreciated presence at the city’s major festivals, concert series, and jazz events.
Watching them interact made me think of one of the things I love most about jazz: the beauty of dialogue. Not only between instruments or voices, but between people who choose to build something together.
Musical bridges
Giovana Ceranto & Ada Flocco
One of the things I admire most about Bologna is its ability to embrace different musical worlds and allow them to coexist and flourish side by side.
Originally from Brazil, Giovana Ceranto brings the richness of Brazilian musical tradition to the city’s cultural landscape through her work as a classical pianist and interpreter of the Brazilian repertoire. Her music becomes a bridge between places, memories, and cultures.
Alongside her, meeting Ada Flocco, a singer with a jazz background, reminded me that every artist contributes to this community in a unique way. Her artistic journey combines research, sensitivity, and the desire to develop an authentic artistic voice—one that engages with tradition while never ceasing to explore new directions. It is precisely this constant search that keeps a musical scene alive and continuously evolving.
Together, they reminded me that music knows no borders. Only encounters.
What all of these women have in common is not the stage they perform on, the number of albums they have released, or the recognition they have received. It is the generosity, passion, ambition, courage, and humanity with which they continue to create, inspire, and enrich the musical community through their presence.
For far too long, women in jazz have remained underrepresented within a musical world whose histories and dominant narratives have been shaped primarily through male perspectives. Although important initiatives have emerged in recent years to increase women’s visibility, representation cannot stop at numbers, percentages, festival line-ups, or occasional celebrations. Visibility is only the beginning. Recognition comes next.
We have become very good at counting women, but we are still learning how to truly listen to them.
This is where Le Jazziste by Mary begins.
Not as an archive, a database, or a newspaper article. But as a home for true stories—stories of women, stories connected by one wonderful musical genre, while at the same time moving across many others—stories that deserve to be remembered.
My ambition is not simply to make women more visible, but to make them memorable. I do not celebrate these artists because they are women; I celebrate them because they are extraordinary artists whose stories deserve to be told with the same depth, care, curiosity, and narrative dignity that the history of jazz has reserved for others for far too long.
I want to move beyond statistics and purely symbolic representation. I want to tell the story of every artist not as a quota or a category, but as a complete human being: with her own artistic language, her doubts, her courage, her contradictions, her dreams, and her own way of inhabiting music.
I want to create a space where every story can breathe, where every artistic voice can be heard in all its complexity, and where memory becomes an act of recognition.
This is perhaps the most radical thing (allow me the term!) that this project can do: to slow down in a world that never stops counting (and rushing), to listen in a world that never stops talking (and shouting), and to remember in a world that forgets all (too easily).
To celebrate these women from the inside out. From their essence. From their bones. From their soul.
Photo: Mary Blengino
Until next time, Bologna!
If there is one thing this second chapter has taught me, it is that Bologna can never truly be told in its entirety…
There are still so many extraordinary women whose stories deserve to be heard, so many concerts I have yet to attend, and so many conversations that I hope will one day turn into friendships—and perhaps even artistic collaborations.
This chapter, together with the previous one, is therefore not intended to be an exhaustive portrait of Bologna’s female musical community, but simply a snapshot of the encounters that made this journey so meaningful to me.
This is the essence of Le Jazziste by Mary.
Every journey leaves me with the desire to return. Not only to continue my research on women in jazz, but also to keep building musical, artistic, and human connections with the extraordinary women I meet along the way.
So, there is only one thing left to say:
see you again very soon, my dear Bologna!
With kindness and swing, always.
Mary 🌹
