Like the dancer and singer Josephine Baker (1906-1975), she played an important role in the early spread of jazz in Europe. As a singer she is related to artists such as Maxine Sullivan (1911-1987) and Adelaide Hall (1901-1993). On trumpet, her main influence was Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), although she is also compared to Doc Cheatham (1905-1997). Other outstanding instrumentalists in the classic jazz and swing era were the pianist, composer, arranger and singer Lillian Hardin (1898-1971), second wife of Louis Armstrong, whom she decisively helped in his career; the trumpeter and singer Tiny Davis (ca. 1910-1994), a member of the Harlem Playgirls; or Anna MaeWinburn (1913-1999), who led the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a group made up only of both African-American and white women, a circumstance that was still unusual at the time. Other outstanding trumpet players in successive years in the international jazz scene have been the American Clora Bryant (1927-2019), the Canadian Ingrid Jensen (1966- ) and the Spanish Andrea Motis (1995- ), who also sings and plays the soprano saxophone.
Valaida Snow
(Queen of the Trumpet, Little Louis)
Chattanooga, Tennessee 02-06-1904 ‖ New York 30-05-1956
Period of activity: From Unknown date until 1956
Geographical classification: America > United States
Socio-cultural movements
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Musical movements since the end of the 19th century > Popular music > Jazz
Historical milestones > Interwar period
Groups by dedication
Musicians > Instrumentalists
Musicians > Singers
Plastic, visual and performing artists > Dancers
Context of feminine creation
Review
Valaida Snow was an important jazz and vaudeville trumpeter, singer and dancer of the interwar period. In her heyday she spent long periods in Europe, and like Josephine Baker helped to spread jazz and jazz dance on the continent. Her quality earned her the recognition of her colleagues of both sexes.
Justifications
Biography
Valaida Snow was an American trumpeter, singer and dancer of great prestige in the jazz world. She was born in 1904 in Tennessee and died in 1956 in New York.
From a musical family, as a child she learned to play many instruments such as the cello, double bass, violin, harp, accordion, saxophone, clarinet, banjo and trumpet, as well as singing and dancing. Her professional career began when she was still a child.
She was an artist who shone in everything she did. She chose the trumpet as her main instrument and quickly made a name for herself in show business, touring the US as part of vaudeville and musical theatre troupes. As early as 1926 she toured as far as Shanghai, and shortly afterwards she spent two years touring Europe and the Middle East, following in the footsteps of her friend Josephine Baker and contributing to the popularisation of jazz and African-American dance. On her return she was already a famous artist and worked in California, where she married the dancer Ananias Berry. She performed with him for some time and also appeared in several films.
She returned to Europe on numerous occasions. Between 1936 and 1940 she spent time in England, Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia, and recorded some of the few records to her name. On several of those records she appeared as Valaida, Queen of the trumpet, an admiring nickname given to her by the blues composer W. C. Handy. In 1941, she was in Copenhagen when the country was invaded by the Nazis in the Second World War. She was arrested and taken prisoner, accused of theft and drug use. After some time she managed to return to the United States, where she resumed her career, though she never fully recovered from the experience. She died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 30 May 1956 in New York City.
Works
I Wish I Were Twins / I Can't Dance, I've Got Ants In My Pants (Parlophone, 1935)
Imagination / Sing, You Sinners (Parlophone, 1935)
It Had To Be You / You Bring Out The Savage In Me (Parlophone, 1935)
Take Care Of You For Me / Lovable And Sweet (Odeon, 1936)
I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me / Tiger Rag (Parlophone, 1937)
Swing Is The Thing / I Wonder Who Made Rhythm? (Parlophone, 1937)
The Mood That I'm In / Sweet Heartache (Parlophone, 1937)
Don't Know If I'm Comin' Or Goin' / Where Is The Sun? (Parlophone, 1937)
Some Of These Days / Nagasaki (Parlophone, 1938)
Chloe / I Got Rhythm (Parlophone, 1938)
Caravan / My Heart Belongs To Daddy (Sonora, 1939)
You're Driving Me Crazy / Take It Easy (Tono, 1940)
Minnie The Moocher / Swing Low - Sweet Chariot (Sonora, 1940)
Some Of These Days / Carry Me Back To Old Virginny (Tono, 1940)
I Can't Give You Anything But Love / St. Louis Blues (Ekko, 1940)
The Lonesome Road / If I Only Had You (Gold Seal, 1946)
Fool That I Am / Lonesome Road (Bel-Tone Records, 1946)
It's The Talk Of The Town / If I Only Had You (Bel-Tone Records, 1946)
Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone / When A Woman Loves A Man (Derby, 1950)
Chloe / Coconut Head (Derby, 1950)
I Ain't Gonna Tell / If You Don't Mean It (Chess Record, 1953)
Solitude / I Must Have That Man (Bel-Tone Records,n.d.)
Frustration / Caravan (Bel-Tone Records,n.d.)
You Bring Out The Savage In Me / Singing In The Rain (Odeon, n.d.)
Bibliography
Miller, Mark (2007). High hat, trumpet, and ryhthm. The life and music of Valaida Snow. Ontario, The Mercury Press.
Reed, Bill (2009). Hot from Harlem: Twelve African American Entertainers, 1890-1960. Jefferson (EUA), McFarland and Company.
Russonello, Giovanni (2020): “Overlooked No More: Valaida Snow, Charismatic ‘Queen of the Trumpet’”, The New York Times, 22/2/2020. (retrieved on 12-11-2022)
Youtube: 12-11-2022. Valaida Snow trumpet star.
Didactic approach
It is possible to work with her themes in Language(s) and Music classes as a Jazz trumpet player.
In Secondary Education classes, in Professional and Higher Artistic Music Education, when jazz and the musical movements of the first half of the 20th century in America are dealt with, and in the speciality of singing.
At University, in subjects with musical competences, to study the presence of female music performers in society.