Rebecca Zola is a doctoral student of ethnomusicology, and she is also a jazz musician. Her research interests lie in how contemporary jazz and other niche music scenes operate under neoliberalism, and particularly how identity markers such as gender, race, sexuality and national identity become inseparable from music branding. Rebecca graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a M.A. in musicology, where she wrote and published her thesis, “Women in Jazz: A Failed Brand.” This thesis was published as a book chapter in the book, "The Routledge Companion to Jazz and Gender." 

Rebecca holds a B.A. in Writing, and a B.F.A. in jazz performance from The New School in New York City. Originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, she has spent her adult life working as a jazz musician and music researcher, moving between NYC and Israel. Zola has performed at venues around the United States, in Europe, and in Israel. Her research is heavily guided by her personal connections to the jazz scene, to her Jewish identity, and to her passionate belief in intersectional feminism. She is thrilled to be continuing her research as an ethnomusicologist as a doctoral student at Columbia University.