Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women of Jazz, written by Jazz historian Leslie Gourse, contains biographies of some of the great female Jazz vocalist's from the past 100 years. It received a Carter G. Woodson Book Award for the most distinguished books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. This award is intended to “encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately.”
The portraits included here, in order, are: Bessie Smith, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Mabel Mercer, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O’Day, Betty Carter, Cassandra Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney.
Client: Dutton Children's Books / Art Director: Sarah Reynolds