The Museum of Making Music presents a touching saxophone documentary followed by a Q&A with director Jeannie Pool.  “Peggy Gilbert & Her All-Girl Band” is an inspiring and heartwarming film about an indomitable woman who broke stereotypes and pioneered the way for female musicians.  With insightful interviews and a treasury of jazz greats, this film touches the heart.  Tickets are $15; $10 for members.

As a performer on saxophones, clarinet, violin, and vibes, as well as a singer, arranger, and contractor for women musicians, Peggy Gilbert has been a one-woman support network and staunch advocate for women since the 1920s. A professional tenor saxophonist for more than 80 years, she has been an inspiration for several generations of musicians.

In January 2006, Peggy Gilbert celebrated her 101st birthday, displaying a vivacity that belied her age. Perhaps she has lived so long so that she can tell the stories of the remarkable women musicians of her generation. These women broke down the barriers before them, enabling female instrumentalists both to be taken seriously as musicians and to develop professional careers.

Her last ensemble, "Peggy Gilbert and The Dixie Belles," played hot Dixieland jazz on national television, at jazz festivals, and in concerts from 1974 to 1994. Appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Golden Girls, Ellen, Simon & Simon, and other sit-coms, made them famous coast-to-coast, even as octogenarians. Peggy herself continued to do television commercials well into her nineties.

This documentary tells Peggy Gilbert's story with more than seven hundred rare photographs of women musicians and all-girl bands. The film also includes rare film clips and stills from movies (beginning in 1931) in which Peggy's band appeared, plus invaluable radio air-check tapes and recordings from the 1930s and '40s.

Directed, written, and produced by Jeannie Pool, a music historian and composer, the production was made possible with funding from The Silva Watson Moonwalk Foundation and private donors, in association with North Wind Quintet of Los Angeles. Glenn Winters is the Editor. The film features performances of The Dixie Belles and includes an original score composed by Jeannie Pool. It had its premiere screening in May 2006 in Miami.