Hazel Scott [1920-1981] captivated audiences with her renditions of classical masterpieces by Chopin, Bach and Rachmaninoff.
(Associated Press) (SmithsonianMag.com)
John Malveaux of
writes:
Pianist Hazel Scott was a child prodigy and devotee of classical and jazz music. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/womens-history/hazel-scotts-lifetime-of-high-notes-145939027/
John Malveaux
Smithsonian Magazine
Hazel Scott’s Lifetime of High Notes
She began her career as a musical prodigy and ended up breaking down racial barriers in the recording and film industries
Hazel Scott’s Lifetime of High Notes
She began her career as a musical prodigy and ended up breaking down racial barriers in the recording and film industries
By
She was called the “Darling of Café
Society” back in 1939 when New York City was alive with the sounds of
swing. A sexy siren sitting bare-shouldered at the piano, Hazel Scott
captivated audiences with her renditions of classical masterpieces by
Chopin, Bach and Rachmaninoff. Nightly, crowds would gather at Café
Society, New York’s first fully integrated nightclub, the epicenter of
jazz and politics nestled in Greenwich Village, to hear the
nineteen-year-old bronze beauty transform “Valse in D-Flat Major”, “Two
Part Invention in A-Minor,” and “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” into highly
syncopated sensations. “But where others murder the classics, Hazel
Scott merely commits arson,” wrote TIME magazine. “Strange notes creep
in, the melody is tortured with hints of boogie-woogie, until finally,
happily, Hazel Scott surrenders to her worse nature and beats the
keyboard into a rack of bones.”
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on June 11, 1920, Hazel Dorothy
Scott was the only child of R. Thomas Scott, a West African scholar from
Liverpool, England and Alma Long Scott, a classically-trained pianist
and music teacher. A precocious child who discovered the piano at the
age of 3, Hazel surprised everyone with her ability to play by ear. When
she would scream with displeasure after one of Alma’s students hit a
wrong note, no one in the household recognized the sensitive ear she
possessed. “They had been amused, but no one regarded my urge as latent
talent,” she recalled. Until one day, young Hazel made her way to the
piano and began tapping out the church hymn, “Gentle Jesus”, a tune her
grandmother Margaret sang to her daily at nap time. From that moment on,
Alma shifted her focus from her own dreams of becoming a concert
pianist, and dedicated herself to cultivating her daughter’s natural
gift. They were a tight knit pair, sharing an extremely close bond
throughout their lives. “She was the single biggest influence in my
life,” Hazel said. Her father, on the other hand, would soon leave the
family and have a very small presence in his daughter’s life.
Following the breakup of the Scott’s marriage, the three of
them—mother, daughter and grandmother—would migrate to the States in
search of greater opportunity for themselves and the gifted young
pianist. In 1924, they headed to New York and landed in Harlem, where
Alma took a job as a domestic maid.
She struggled, however, and returned to what she knew best—music.
She taught herself the saxophone, and eventually joined Lil Hardin
Armstrong’s orchestra in the early 1930s. Alma’s associations with
well-known musicians made the Scott household “a mecca for musicians,”
according to Hazel, who benefited from the guidance and tutelage of jazz
greats Art Tatum, Lester Young and Fats Waller, all of whom she
considered to be like family.
In 1928, Hazel auditioned for enrollment in the prestigious
Juilliard School of Music. She was only eight-years-old, and too young
for standard enrollment (students had to be at least 16), but because of
some influential nudging by wealthy family friends and Alma’s sheer
determination, Hazel was given a chance. Her performance of
Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” made a strong impression on
staff professor Oscar Wagner. He proclaimed the child “a genius,” and
with the permission of the school’s director, Walter Damrosch, offered
her a special scholarship where he would teach her privately
.
Career progress was swift. A spirited young woman with an outward
demeanor that was effervescent and engaging, Hazel’s life was not that
of an ordinary teenager. While still in high school, Hazel hosted her
own radio show on WOR after winning a local competition, and performed
gigs at night. At times, she felt burdened by the demands of her talent,
admitting, “There were times when I thought that I just couldn't go
on.” Still, she managed to graduate with honors from Wadleigh High. Not
long after, she made her Broadway debut in the musical revue Sing Out the News.
Commercial recordings of her ”Bach to Boogie” repertoire on the
Signature and Decca labels would break sales records nationwide.
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