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A STUDY OF THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF BLACK FEMALE JAZZ INSTRUMENTALISTS (SUBSET)�VALAIDA SNOW, PAULINE BRADDY AND TERRY POLLARD��

RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION BY

DR. BAILEY HINKLEY GROGAN

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INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

Three black female jazz instrumentalists

1925 to 1960

Black female instrumentalists lack representation in jazz literature.

Paved the road for women of future generations

84%/16% of jazz studies degrees - male/female (2019)

Jazz & Jazz Studies," Data USA

Chosen due to the lack of representation between 1925-1960

97% of females need more visibility to be successful

Women in Jazz Organization, 2020

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VALAIDA SNOW

  • American trumpet player, singer, dancer, and actor.
  • Nicknamed “Little Louis” and “Queen of the Trumpet”1
  • Began on Vaudeville
  • 1920’s working on TOBA Circuit
  • Broadway
  • Traveled and lived mostly internationally to escape racial inequality�

1Sally Placksin, “Valaida Snow,” in American Women in Jazz:1900 to the Present: Their Words, Lives, and Music

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CAREER

England 🡪 records, virtuosic trumpet and singing ability.

Made films 🡪 Hollywood

Louis Armstrong comparison 🡪 “she was second only to him on the horn.”

Female musicians 🡪 novelty

Compared to male counterparts, noticed for looks

Moved back to Europe 🡪record, arrested in Denmark by Nazis for theft and drug use.

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LATER CAREER

  • Continued touring in US after release
  • 1920s - Snow, racism and misogyny on the road.�
  • Peak career at same time as Armstrong.�
  • US Discography - lost in 2008 Universal Fire. �
  • Touring was not safe in US for women.�
  • 20th century women - singers or dancers, not instrumentalists �
  • Discography - international labels , Europe.

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PAULINE BRADDY

  • American jazz drummer and performance artist
  • A natural percussionist, “Queen of the Drums”2
  • Modeled herself after Gene Kruppea
  • Piney Woods School (Mississippi)
  • International Sweethearts of Rhythm original drummer�

2Sally Placksin, “Pauline Braddy,” in American Women in Jazz:1900 to the Present: Their Words, Lives, and Music�

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CAREER

  • International Sweethearts of Rhythm
  • Formed at Piney Woods School
  • Consuella Carter 🡪 influence behind beginning of band, director, arranger
  • 1940-Sweethearts become professional band
  • One of the most successful bands of the swing era, all black female ensemble
  • 1941 🡪 one of the nation’s best draws
  • Starred in short films, highlighted Braddy’s drumming.
  • 1949, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm disbanded.
  • WWII – social pressures from men/expectations of women

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LATER CAREER

  • New York🡪 accompanied other bandleaders
  • Braddy’s limited discography
  • Most artistic recording projects was “Drum Fantasy”
  • Painted her drum kit and sticks with florescent paint and turned on a black light --> ahead of her time, 1960s
  • Braddy retired from music in the late 1960s

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“It was a fabulous thing...you painted the sticks with that fluorescent stuff, and the cymbals and the rims, and then they put on the black light. I played with white gloves. It broke up the thing all the time. That was the first time I ever heard myself playing a solo.”

-Pauling Braddy 3

3Sally Placksin, “Pauline Braddy,” in American Women in Jazz:

1900 to the Present: Their Words, Lives, and Music�

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TERRY POLLARD

  • Jazz Vibraphonists and Pianist in Detroit
  • Defining sounds of Detroit jazz in the 1950s
  • Female jazz pioneer, cheerleader for the artform
  • Accolades, awards, and a remarkable collaborative resume
  • Sponsored by substantial 20th century jazz vibraphone player Terry Gibbs

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CAREER

  • Collaboration with Terry Gibbs

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  • North American tour, second pianist and vibraphonist

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  • First black female jazz artist 🡪 The Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen with Terry Gibbs Quartet

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  • 1955: Self-titled album release

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  • 1956 Downbeat Magazine Best New Artist award (beat out vibraphonist, Milt Jackson)

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LATER CAREER

  • Grew in popularity, more integrated into the mainstream jazz scene

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  • “Pollard swings the hardest”4

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  • Michigan Jazz Hall of Fame

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  • Integrated into niche-Detroit scene instead of going national

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  • Played with Thad Jones, Elvin Jones, Nat King Cole, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald�
  • “The Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation”
    • Educates young women to pursue music and business
    • Provides women tools and materials

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4Samuel Chell, “Terry Gibbs: Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard Album Review,”

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CONCLUSIONARY REMARKS

  • Valaida Snow (Trumpet), Pauline Braddy (Drums), and Terry Pollard (Piano)
  • Continue writing about forgotten pioneers in jazz, specifically women, implement into mainstream� jazz history cannon
  • Continue to educate the next generation of�jazz vocalists and musicians��For more information:
    • Dr. Bailey Hinkley Grogan
    • Access to full research paper of all 6 �artists and presentation at QR code
    • Baileyelizabethgrogan@gmail.com || baileyhg.com

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