Dynamic Women of Early Jazz and Classic Blues, Pt 2

Concealed in the shadows of early Jazz, Blues and Popular music history are dynamic and accomplished women who nurtured, guided and developed the music. Several of the most talented and accomplished are profiled below: Lil Hardin who was midwife to the birth of Jazz on record; Ma Rainey, the tough and independent “Mother of the Blues;” and supremely talented trumpet player and singer, Valaida Snow. Composer, arranger, bandleader and radical modernist Mary Lou Williams is featured. Lil Hardin: Midwife to the Birth of Jazz on Record Lil (Lillian Hardin) Armstrong (1898-1971) was a brilliant, arranger, composer, bandleader and singer with a flair for promotion. She forged her own path through the male-dominated world of Jazz but has yet to receive full credit for her seminal role. “Hot Miss Lil,” as she was known around 1920, played piano for bandleader and cornet player Joe Oliver in Chicago. In 1923 she had a key role organizing Oliver’s landmark Creole Jazz Band records. Unlike the men of the band, Hardin had a formal musical education and played a substantial role behind the scenes crafting those Oliver sessions. They were the earliest discs made by a genuine African Ameri