Female Cadence. Kathy Stobart (UK) with Birgitta Flick Quartett

Growing up in a musical family, she found her way to the saxophone early on. At just 17, she toured war-torn Britain with Don Rico's Ladies Swing Band and later played in London clubs, the BBC Jazz Club, and even in makeshift venues during air raids.

In the 1940s and 50s, she worked with musical giants such as Art Thompson, Vic Lewis, and Eddie Condon. In 1950, she founded her own group. Her most formative artistic partnership began in 1957 with Humphrey Lyttelton – their collaborative album "Kath Meets Humph" brought her international acclaim. Stobart played with, among others... She collaborated with Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate, led her own bands, and released a highly acclaimed baritone saxophone duet album with Joe Temperley.

Famous for her "huge, powerful tone," she was one of the few women of her generation to establish herself on the tenor saxophone—and one of the most important pioneers for later female jazz musicians. In 2005, she received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Services to Jazz.

The Birgitta Flick Quartet dedicates an evening to Stobart, making her music, her energy, and her artistic approach tangible. With Birgitta Flick's expressive saxophone playing and her quartet (Andreas Schmidt on piano, James Banner on bass, and Max Andrzejewskis on drums), a contemporary homage to a pioneer is created. At the same time, Birgitta Flick takes a leap into the present, reinterpreting Kathy Stobart's pieces and also presenting her own works.

The concert is part of Female Cadence: Women in European Jazz around 1960, a project that brings forgotten artists like Lolita Garrido, Pia Beck, Colette Magny, Kathy Stobart, and Ewa Wanat back into the public consciousness through reinterpretations, lectures, and an accompanying podcast. It is a contribution to the history of women in jazz and to their artistic and political positions then and now.

• Saturday, January 3, 2026 · 8 p.m. · Brotfabrik Berlin, Caligariplatz 1, 13086 Berlin
  

FEMALE CADENCE. WOMEN IN EUROPEAN JAZZ AROUND 1960

A Tribute to Kathy Stobart (England)


Presented by:

BIRGITTA FLICK QUARTET

• Birgitta Flick – Saxophone
  
• Andreas Schmidt – Piano
  
• James Banner – Bass
  
• Max Andrzejewski – Drums
  
• Introduction: Regina Câmara
  

Supported by the German Music Fund (Musikfonds e. V.) with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Concept & Implementation: Regina Câmara