Category: Other Jazz People

ONE NIGHT CLUB AT A TIME: THE STORY OF MAE DIGGS (part 3)

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ONE NIGHT CLUB AT A TIME: THE STORY OF MAE DIGGS (part 2)

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ONE NIGHT CLUB AT A TIME: THE STORY OF MAE DIGGS (part 1)

Mae Diggs was a singer, dancer, drummer, bandleader, composer and producer. She sang popular songs of the day, sultry blues numbers, and her own compositions. She danced, usually solo on stage, with sexy, exotic moves dressed in a variety of costumes… Read the full story →

Mabel GARRETT, The Story of a Cotton Club Girl (2/2)

PART 2: After the closing of the Cotton Club. The end of a journey with one of those performers who made it on Broadway, on Harlem stages and now has to struggle when hard times come with age… Read the full story →

Mabel GARRETT, The Story of a Cotton Club Girl (1/2)

Appearing just a few seconds dancing with Cab Calloway in the movie Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937), this graceful, tall and jumping dancer remained unidentified until we asked jazz dance historian Harri HEINILÄ from Helsinki to help us. Then, with the name in mind, after several… Read the full story →

How Chick Corea started in show business with Cab Calloway

Did you know that the legendary pianist Chick COREA (June 12, 1941-February 9, 2021) had his first professional gig with... Cab Calloway in February 1960 in Boston, MA? Read the full story →

Elmer: Cab Calloway’s (not so) hidden brother

The name “Calloway” was a huge path to success. Before Cab, of course, there was Blanche, the elder sister (born in 1903) who started out with Louis Armstrong before having her own orchestra in 1931. But what few of… Read the full story →

MAE JOHNSON, THE SEPIA MAE WEST: FORGOTTEN STAR OF THE COTTON CLUB (Part 5)

PART 5: THE OTHER MAE JOHNSON & OTHER SEPIA MAE WESTS The Sepia Mae West, Copper-Colored Mae West, Creole Mae West, Scarlett O’Hara from Lennox Avenue, Gypsy Rose Lee in Bronze, Rainy Day Sadie, the Duchess of Yorkville, the Chick with… Read the full story →

MAE JOHNSON, THE SEPIA MAE WEST: FORGOTTEN STAR OF THE COTTON CLUB (Part 4)

PART 4: LOS ANGELES, RECORDS, AND THE STAGE (by Keller Whalen) The Sepia Mae West, Copper-Colored Mae West, Creole Mae West, Scarlett O’Hara from Lennox Avenue, Gypsy Rose Lee in Bronze, Rainy Day Sadie, the Duchess of Yorkville, the Chick with… Read the full story →

MAE JOHNSON, THE SEPIA MAE WEST: FORGOTTEN STAR OF THE COTTON CLUB (Part 3)

PART 3: THE MOVIE CAREER (by Keller WHALEN) The Sepia Mae West, Copper-Colored Mae West, Creole Mae West, Scarlett O’Hara from Lennox Avenue, Gypsy Rose Lee in Bronze, Rainy Day Sadie, the Duchess of Yorkville, the Chick with the Limber… Read the full story →