Baby Briscoe: Crescent City Queen, Sweetheart of New Orleans

With the exception of a few lady pianists, Swing Era women sang while the men played; that's what some less academic, coffee table jazz histories would have you believe. Save for the big-name divas, women have struggled to hold their places in swing history; this despite an often-awesome contribution. Denied positions in ‘male’ big bands, some female players found 'all-girl' groups in which to showcase their skills. But here their talents have been much-maligned, their bands are often dismissed as titillating novelty acts or 'war work'. The male-staffed big bands made their male leaders famous. Yet, even when a female group did achieve contemporary acclaim, it was often their sex — not their bandleader’s name — which was immortalised (think The Glenn Miller Orchestra, versus The International Sweethearts of Rhythm). Female dancers of the age had it just as tough, with even Ginger Rogers rarely mentioned outside the context of “Fred Astaire and…” So pity poor Neliska Briscoe who, as a nightclub singer, dancer and later bandleader, leaves little trace in the mainstream jazz histories, despite being dubbed “Crescent City Queen”. Enter musicologist Sherrie Tucker, who has perhaps written more on mid-century jazzwomen than any other scholar. Tucker is also the lead author on fascinating National Park Service paper ‘A Feminist Perspective on New Orleans Jazz Wome