 In 1953, she left her job at Local 47 for a job as secretary to the president of a barbecue manufacturing company, but she did not stay long at her new job, returning to Local 47 and working there until 1970.The late 1950s brought the rise of free jazz, and many of the women in Gilbert's generation were no longer performing.Gilbert, however, continued to play when she was asked, but she realized that she was too old to be performing live on a regular basis.