10 Black Female Early Jazz Musicians

I discussed here, "Music In, 2024, Batch 3", having this post include "white" female singers from the 1920s to the 1950s as well as "black". But given that is February, Black History Month, I will do the post on "black" early female musicians. All were singers, a few were also pianists, 2 were songwriters. I will list them in order of year of birth.

5 of these musicians I knew before I started building the Jaz Dumoz songbook, currently at ~250 songs, in 2020. 5 were pleasant discoveries.

Note, the post linked to above wound up starting with a discussion of the "white" female early jazz musicians in my music collection and/or in the Jaz Dumoz songbook. So with this post, everybody is covered.

For each of these musicians, I will include a link to their page in the DAHR - Discography of American Historical Recordings - hosted at UC Santa Barbara. That will give you a feel for when they recorded.

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1. Ethel Waters (1896-1977).
   
   Somewhere I read that she was the 1st black female who was a big musical star. Of songs she popularized, I have recorded "stormy weather", "taking a chance on love", and "there'll be some changes made".

   She was the female lead of the charming movie "Cabin In The Sky", 1943. That is such a fun movie, but you have to buy it. I don't remember how much is was, but it was totally worth it! I've watched it more than once.

   I have not purchased any albums of her music.

   Here's her main page at DAHR, 121 tracks. There are a few other pages with name variations, another 5 tracks. The listing is missing all the songs mentioned above.

2. Adelaide Hall (1901-1993).
   
   I stumbled upon Adelaide in the 1st Fats Waller biography I read. She was a pianist - and a tap dancer? - as well as a vocalist but normally performed just as a front woman, and had 2 pianists travelling with her band. She was down a pianist in Toledo, OH and was pointed at local up-and-comer Art Tatum. She hired him, & Tatum traveled with her to NYC, & the rest is history. Tatum IMO is the greatest "jazz" pianist of all time.

   She also did a really odd, soprano, growling scat singing ?!?!? Almost sounds like a kazoo?!?!?

   I bought a double album of her tunes, 52 tracks, reviewed here, "Music In, 2024, Batch 3", which we've already encountered.

   Songs we overlap on: "sophisticated lady" - oddly, she does a bridge & last verse with totally different lyrics than the canonical version?!?!?; "i got rhythm"; "truckin'" - ooh, an Intro I hadn't heard before, + a tap dancing solo; "i can't give you anything but love" - ooh, with Fats Waller on organ & patter, recorded in London, 1938; "all the things you are".

   She is probably my least fav of these singers. I find her warbly soprano annoying at times.

   She moved to London in 1938 (& recorded a couple of songs with Fats Waller on organ & patter) & lived out her life there. Per Wikipedia:

   Hall entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003 as the world's most enduring recording artist, having released material over eight consecutive decades.

   Here's her main page at DAHR, only 10 tracks???

3. Ivie Anderson (1905-1949)
   
   I stumbled on Ivie when "it don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)" came up in my list to be worked up. Duke Ellington wrote the song in 1931, and Ivie had just joined his band as the singer. She was the 1st person to perform the song, which was a big hit. She was Ellington's singer until 1942. Her asthma forced her to quit, and killed her at the early age of 44.

   She has a really strong voice. Her personality shines through in this video of "all god's children got rhythm", from the 1937 Marx Brother's movie "A Day At The Races". I recorded this arrangement of this song, it was fun.

   I found a 50 track compilation of her music: Duke Ellington & His Orchestra Feat. Ivie Anderson, "The Ivie Anderson Collection 1932-46", I think reasonably priced, reviewed here, in "Music In, 2024, Batch 2".

   We also overlap on "truckin'", "did anyone ever tell you?", "stormy weather", and "on the sunny side of the street".

   Here's her page on DAHR, only 13 tracks?!?!? I wonder why these are so imcomplete? Their entry for "Fats Waller and His Rhythm" appears to be pretty inclusive, 307 tracks.

4. Cleo Brown (1909-1995)
   
   This is pretty much what all the images of Cleo looked like. When I saw this one, I had to include it, so Cleo gets 2 pix.
   
   I stumbled upon Cleo, who was also a piano player, working up a Fats Waller song in 2021. I wrote her up as an addendum to my "My Fats Waller Project" post. I'm going to copy that here. She got religion, became a nurse, & retired from music in the 1950s but went back to it later.

   An early Music In note, when I was looking for the video for "you got me under your thumb", I came across the Cleo Brown version - it had a very tasty intro. Cleo was known as the "female Fats Waller". She was 3 (OR 5) years younger, born 1907 (or 1909) vs 1904 for Fats. Her skimpy Wikipedia article says in 1935 she took over for Fats as pianist for the WABC orchestra in NYC.

   It seems like most of her stuff is on this 27-track album, "Here Comes Cleo". Only $9.49 Amazon download, quel bargain! I've really enjoyed it. Favs: "you got me under your thumb", "my gal mezzanine", "when hollywood goes black and tan", "who's that knockin' at my heart?".

   I found her the last week of Black History Month & thought, "How appropriate & fortuitous!". Touted on Twitter, crickets :-(

   Oooh, just found another album of hers, "1935-1951", 27 tracks, 18 in common w "Here Comes Cleo", only $3.99!!! Snappin' that up right now! 9 new tracks for $3.99 a great bargain!

   [Note, the bolded text above used to be links to MP3 album downloads on Amazon, but, they are broken. I tried to restore them, I couldn't break through Amazon's attempts to sign me up for their unlimited music service. Can you say, enshittification?]

   I've worked up 2 more of her songs I mentioned as favs:"my gal mezzanine" and "who's that knockin' at my heart?".

   Here's her DAHR page, 19 tracks.

5. Maxine Sullivan (1911-1987)
   
   I stumbled on Maxine working up "keepin' out of mischief now", done by Fats Waller and many others. I found a 24 track compilation of her music titled "Supposin'", reviewed here. It doesn't appear in her Wikipedia discography. One of her 1st hits was "Loch Lomond", ("you take the high road, & I'll take the low road") so, sadly, she kind of gravitated to schmalzy stuff. :-(

   She had a period where she did a lot of Andy Razaf and Fats Waller songs, several of which are in this compilation. There are plenty more tracks of her music out there, but, having started with this compilation, I would probably wind up with dups, annoying. Plus the schmaltzy stuff. Still, I got that goin' for me.

   She has a great voice, I think maybe 2nd only to Ella. Per Wikipedia, she was performing up until just before her death at age 75.

   She showed up in the 2nd Fats Waller biography I read, in a random anecdote where Fats showed up & insisted on accompanying her at 1 of her gigs.

   We also overlap on "ain't misbehavin'" and "honeysuckle rose", from her Andy & Fats period. She has some weird non-canon lyrics.

   Here's her DAHR record.

6. Una Mae Carlisle (1915-1956)
   
   Una Mae was a force of nature. Plus a protégé of Fats Waller on piano. Plus a songwriter.

   In late 1932, Fats Waller moved his family to Cincinnati, so he could perform on clear channel radio station WLW, which pretty much reached coast to cost. For his 1932 christmas show, he recruited 17 YO singer/pianist Una Mae Carlisle, from nearby Xenia OH, who had won a talent contest. She became a regular on the show through 1933.

   She almost stole my review of the 1st Fats Waller biography I read. She was definitely an alpha type personality. So it's totally appropriate that her Wikipedia article identifies her as:

   • "the first black woman to have a composition appear on a Billboard chart" ["walkin' by the river"]
   • "first black American to host a national radio show".

   I mean, who knew? I 1st encountered her in the DAHR database page for Fats Waller & His Rhythm, as a vocalist with Fats on the song, "i can't give you anything but love", recorded 1939-11-03. [That database page also lists a 1937-10-07 recording of "call me 'darling'" with singer Dorothea Driver, to whom I can find no other references.] Una had recorded 6 tracks in London & 2 tracks in Paris before that collaboration with Fats. She is on record as to how that boosted her career in the US.

   Here's her DAHR page - 33 tracks. Hmmm, nothing before ICGYABL with Fats. Ah, Here's a more complete track list than DAHR.

   I 1st found 5 of the London tracks on Amazon, reviewed here, "Music In, 2024, Batch 3". Then I found an 8 song album from 1941 on Apple. Then I hit paydirt, 3 "In Chronology" CDs, 70 tracks total, I think her whole catalog, reviewed here, "Music In, 2024, Batch 4". She died young, age 40.

   I've recorded "t'ain't yours" - I love this video!

   I am working up "you made me love you" (with a tasty intro) and "don't try your jive on me". Interesting, she recorded a pretty fast version of DTYJOM at her 1st session, in London 1938-05-20. 3 months later, on 1938-08-21, also in London, Fats recorded the same song, but at a slower tempo, and on organ. I'm working up Una Mae's version!

   Our 1st artist, Ethel Waters, I have heard of my whole life. The next 5 were all new to me. These last 4 are all well-known performers.

7. Billie Holiday (1915-59).
   
   Famously nicknamed Lady Day, she was a songwriter as well as a vocalist. She is a well-known cultural icon; she has been the subject of several movies.

   She is not 1 of my favorites of this group. I had the bad luck to have the 1st (and only) album of hers I bought be her last one, "Lady in Satin", released in the year before her death. Her voice had gotten thin and reedy.

   The Jaz Dumoz songbook overlaps with her on "i cover the waterfront", "them there eyes", "you go to my head", "god bless the child", and "spreadin' rhythm around", which Fats Waller also did. She co-wrote "god bless the child".

   Here's her DAHR page, 198 tracks.

8. Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
   
   Ella is my favorite vocalist, female or male, of all time. At her peak, the timbre and tone of her voice were just perfect IMO.

   She had a troubled childhood and adolescence, with some trouble with the law. Music was her salvation. I remember a story from somewhere, where Chick Webb had been told to find a new singer for one of the big NYC clubs. He came back with Ella & was told, no good, she's not pretty enough. He threatened to quit if she were not the singer, and won out. Ella later took over his band after his death.

   Ella was incredibly prolific, several dozen albums. I have 9 of her albums - 3 with Louis Armstrong, with Duke Ellington, with Count Basie, with Joe Pass, the Johnny Mercer songbook. She is tagged to 16 songs in the Jaz Dumoz songbook, but, like Frank Sinatra, I only tagged her to a song if it was strongly associated with her - or - if she did an intro. Ella liked intros, if a song had 1 she probably did it.

   Here's one: "i got rhythm", with a totally odd intro. Here's another, with a more standard Cole Porter intro: "it's de-lovely".

   3 more songs: "in a sentimental mood"; "i'm beginning to see the light"; and one of her great duets with Louis Armstrong: "they can't take that away from me".

   Here is her DAHR page, 349 entries, wow!

9. Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990)
   
   Sarah was a pianist as well as a vocalist. She started her career with Earl Hines big band, which featured Billy Eckstine as vocalist. She has such a beautiful voice.

   I have 2 of her albums, 1 with virtuoso guitarist Barney Kessel and a bass player, "Sarah + 2".

   I was exposed to her via her version of "when sunny gets blue". I did an arrangement, but my guitar teacher Ricky Howard's arrangment was much better. That is 1 of my fav songs. I also do her version of "sophisticated lady", which I like because she starts the song with the bridge & the last verse, which puts the song title in the 7th line rather than the 14th.

   Wow, her DAHR page has only 2 songs???

10. Dinah Washington (1924-1963)
    

    I like her voice - it's kind of 1/2-way between Ella or Sarah and Billie.

    She started her career in Chicago - "By 1941–42, she was performing in such Chicago clubs as Dave's Café and the Downbeat Room of the Sherman Hotel (with Fats Waller).". Wow, she was married 6-9 times! She did a few songs with very suggestive lyrics.

    I 1st intersected with her on her last hit, "september in the rain", 1961. This song was the 2nd of my COVID #SongOfTheDay songs, currently at 229 songs. Her 1st pop hit in 1959, was "what a diff'rence a day made" - originally a 1934 spanish-language song by a female Mexican songwriter.

    Her DAHR page has only 1 song???

That completes the list!

4 out of 10 died young, in their early 40's. Billie had drug problems, Dinah accidentally OD'ed on prescription drugs. Ivie and Una Mae had bad luck.

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When I started this post, I had the idea of linking the songs to both these great artists and the Jaz Dumoz recording. I decided against that - giving the ladies their due is much more appropriate!

But, the Marketing Director (me) for Jaz Dumoz insisted on some tie-in.

So, here is a YouTube playlist of Jaz Dumoz performing most of the songs listed above - 30 great songs! I'm sure I don't do them justice, but I try to perform them with respect and affection.

10 Black Female Early Jazz Musicians