Ms. Hazel Scott, Please tell me you’ve heard of her!

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

1920 was the year; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago was the place, where one of the greatest female pianist/vocalist was born. Under the guidance of her mother, Hazel Scott started playing the piano at age 2. Four years later, in 1924, Hazel and her family moved to the U.S. (NYC) where she began formal training. A pure talent, Hazel’s first American debut took place at New York’s Town Hall at the age of 6, only to have six scholarship offers to attend Julliard School of Music in NYC three years later; unfortunately, admitted students had to be sixteen or over. Well under the required age, Hazel ended up joining her mother’s All-Woman Orchestra, playing both the piano and trumpet.

By the time Hazel was 16, she was performing at the Roseland Dance Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra and a radio star on the Mutual Broadcasting System. During the late thirties, on the road to stardom, Scott appeared in the Broadway musical Singing Out the News. Appearing in another Broadway musical, Priorities of 1942, and in films such as, Tropicana, Something to Shout About, I Dood It, The Heat’s On, and Rhapsody in Blue, the 1940s transformed Hazel into a true celebrity. Many other successes followed into the 50s and throughout, including being the first black woman to have her own television show (the show was cancelled due to accusations of her being a communist), performing with the infamous Charles Mingus and Max Roach to create her most enduring jazz album to date, “Relaxed Piano Mood,” and being inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1978.

You may be asking yourself, “was Hazel discriminated against, after all, her successes took place in the early to mid 1900s.” Of course!! We’re talking about the U.S. and a successful black American. Hazel portrayed positive screen and stage images, defying the stereotypical roles that were commonly offered to black Americans by movie producers. No stranger to Jim Crow segregation, even a celebrity of her ability; she acted with dignity while promoting racial integration and American patriotism, and denouncing communism. In addition, she took part in fundraising events, as well as fought for various groups in the name of equal rights.

In closing, Hazel Scott, known for her ability to blend jazz improvisations and classical pieces, was an astounding songstress and actress that created her own concept of black pride. After a long and prosperous career, she passed in 1981 from pancreatic cancer.

For all of us who stand on your shoulders, we say Thank You!


Take a few minutes to view the video below. (IE users click here)

Hazel Scott

Resources:
All About Jazz
Dailymotion
Wikipedia