Without Playing a Note

March is National Women’s History Month! We’ll be sharing stories about some of the most accomplished women in jazz, both nationally and locally. We hope you enjoy this tribute to the women of jazz. 

Helen Keane has the unique distinction of being one of the few women in jazz who never performed but is widely held in high regard for her excellence in the business side of jazz. She was a manager-producer who believed that combining these roles made perfect sense. As a manager, she knew her ‘talent’ personally – their likes, dislikes and idiosyncrasies. As a record producer, she put that personal knowledge to work to extract the best performances possible.

Born in 1923, Keane started her professional career as a secretary with the talent agency MCA. She was promoted at 19 and  became the youngest talent scout for the agency , later moving to CBS for seven years. She eventually opened her own firm and one of her biggest clients was acclaimed pianist Bill Evans. They were introduced in the kitchen of Village Vanguard in 1968 and the partnership lasted until Evans’ death in 1980. They produced over 30 records together, seven of them Emmy winners.  She produced two albums with Evans and Tony Bennett and she also played significant roles in the burgeoning careers of Harry Belafonte, Carol Burnett and Don Knotts. Other jazz greats that crossed her path included guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Art Farmer, saxophonist Pacquito D’Rivera and pianist JoAnne Brackeen. She took particular pride in helping to launch the careers of such female singers as Sylvia Sims and Morgana King, and the all-women’s group, “Alive.”

Considered an impresario, Keane was able to make her mark on the jazz world without ever playing a single professional note. Her talent lay in her passion for the genre and in her desire to promote the artists who made magic with their instruments. Her tribute album to Bill Evans, featuring saxophonist Stan Getz , was aptly named “But Beautiful.” Enough said.