Hazel Scott

Quotes:

"There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're born, and it's a marvelous thing if you know the reason by then."

"There's only one free person in this society, and he is white and male."

• Born: June 11, 1920, Port of Spain, Trinidad
• Died: October 02, 1981, New York, NY
• Active: '40s, '50s, '80s
• Genres: Jazz
• Instrument: Piano
• Representative Albums: "Hazel Scott's Late Show," "1939-1945," "After Hours"

Biography

Though she didn't call it third stream, and it wasn't associated with the genre, Hazel Scott was another musician who found a successful way to blend jazz and classical influences. Scott took classical selections and improvised on them, a practice dating back to the ragtime era. Such numbers as "Hungarian Rhapsody, no. 2" (Liszt) backed by "Valse in D Flat Major, op. 64 no. 1" (Chopin) were audience favorites, even if some critics suggested they smacked of gimmickry (which sometimes they did). Scott was also a good bebop soloist, nice ballad interpreter, fair blues player, and underrated vocalist. Her nightclub act was often more appealing than her albums, where the absence of mitigating circumstances like an audience and club setting resulted in her compositions getting more scrutiny than they could stand. Scott studied classical piano at Juilliard from the age of eight, while also playing jazz in clubs. She became an attraction at downtown and uptown branches of Cafe Society in the late '30s and early '40s. Scott had her own radio show in 1936, appeared on Broadway in 1938, and was in five films during the '40s, among them Rhapsody in Blue. She wrote such songs as "Love Comes Softly" and "Nightmare Blues." Scott later had her own television show and was married to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Their highly visible, high-profile relationship degenerated under the heat of a nationwide obsession with Powell's activities, influence, and behavior, finally ending in divorce. Scott recorded for Decca, Signature, Tioch, and Columbia, but made her finest jazz album for Charles Mingus' Debut label, Relaxed Piano Moods, in 1955. Mingus and Max Roach joined Scott on this session. It's her only date currently available on CD. ~ Ron Wynn and Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

1946-1947 Buy this CD

Relaxed Piano Moods Buy this CD

Round Midnight Buy this CD

Round Midnight Buy this CD

1939-1945 Buy this CD

• Born: Jun 11, 1920 in Trinidad
• Died: Oct 02, 1981 in New York City, New York
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '40s
• Major Genres: Musical, Comedy
• Career Highlights: The Heat's On
• First Major Screen Credit: The Heat's On (1943)

Biography

A haughty, sexy, jazz diva and pianist, Hazel Scott had ben a child prodigy, and could improvise on the piano from the age of five. In 1939, when she was 18, she became an overnight sensation when she appeared at Cafe Society Downtown, an integrated nightclub; she played jazz versions of the classics. In the early '40s she arrived in Hollywood and began appearing as herself in musical films; she had a clause written into her contract specifying that she would not play character roles. One of the many victims of the McCarthy Era, she was listed as a communist sympathizer in the magazine Red Channels, after which her career went into decline. However, she continued performing in America and Europe until shortly before her death. ~ All Movie Guide

Rhapsody in Blue Buy this Movie

Broadway Rhythm Buy this Movie

The Heat's On Buy this Movie

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