Minna+Erica+Trude, Jazz Band

In the spirit of April 30th, the Karlsland girls of the 501st JFW Strike Witches take a break from military work to form a small band learning to play instruments. Minna handles vocals along with an upright bass, Gertrud plays cello, and Erica plays the saxophone.

Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke acts as Flying Officer and organizer for the squad and vocals for their Karlsland Jazz band. She had studied music in Vienna and always wanted to sing but much of that was stopped with the Neuroi invasion. While she is skilled in efficiency and organization she's more relaxed in their joint band. Graceful and gentle, overflowing with elegance.

Erica Hartmann is an ace Flying Officer. While skilled on the battlefield with over 200 kills, in her personal life she is very lax and lazy. Her room, shared with Gertrud, is a complete mess on her side with items scattered across the floor from books to prestigeous metals. In their Jazz band she finds a perfect mix between casual and focused work.

Gertrud "Trude" Barkhorn is a veteran Flying Officer and one of the most determined Karlsland Witches of the Luftwaffe and Strike Witches. She upholds the values of Karlsland and it's proud military tradition. She has a soft spot for young non-combatants, owing to fighting for her sister who barely escaped a Neuroi attack. In battle she is often reckless and hot-blooded, but like Erica channels that into Jazz music for a good balance of freeform passion and skilled playing.

Jazz is a music genre originating from communities in New Orleans, Liberion. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Female jazz performers and composers have contributed to jazz throughout its history. As more men were drafted to fight the Neuroi many all-female bands (not unlike the Witches) replaced them.

Before the Neuroi invasion, Jazz was much more than just a creative pastime, people saw jazz as the "essence of the era's modernism", a strong surge toward greater equality and emancipation, posing as a perfect advocate for a democracy in Karlsland. Some dubbed jazz as the "incarnation of Liberion vitalism".