Mary Osborne On Guitars

A friend on Twitter shared this ad with me. The ad copy is awkward, but interesting. It does indeed acknowledge and celebrate Mary Osborne's talents, but also has mildly condescending, definitely sexist tone as well. ("Love a quick, easy action!") And of course, we can't have Osborne holding the guitar like an actual guitarist, right? Hmm. Of course, this approach to advertising guitars and saxophones hasn't changed all that much in the 21st century, for women or for men.

Here's what Connie Crothers has to say about Osborne in her interview in my book:

Mary Osborne is one of the most important musicians in jazz. She's the missing link between Charlie Christian and the guitar players who came afterwards. The missing link the historians have been looking for is her. She was Charlie Christian’s only protégé. She's major. Billie knew about her, and hired her for that TV special. So there were two women in that band. [laughs] — Connie Crothers to the author, 2013