Tiny Davis

Ernestine Carroll, better known as Tiny Davis (born 1909 or 1910 – January 30, 1994)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist.

Tiny Davis
Birth nameErnestine Carroll
Bornc. 1910
Memphis, Tennessee
DiedJanuary 30, 1994
Chicago, Illinois

Carroll was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and picked up the trumpet at age thirteen while a student at Booker T. Washington High School. She moved to Kansas City in the 1930s and joined the Harlem Play-Girls in 1935, playing with the group until late 1936, when she left the group to give birth. She became a member of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm early in the 1940s, playing with the group until 1947 including on USO tours during World War II and in the film How About That Jive. She then formed her own band from erstwhile members of a group called the Prairie Co-Eds, which she called the Hell Divers. On June 25, 1950, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers performed at the sixth famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr.[2] Also featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, PeeWee Crayton's Orchestra, Roy Milton and his Orchestra, Dinah Washington, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers ensemble recorded for Decca Records and toured through 1952, including in the Caribbean and Central America. Among her sidewomen was bassist Ruby Lucas, who became Davis's lover; they opened a club, Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot, in Chicago, near the end of the decade. She was active in performance into the 1980s, and died in Chicago.

Filmography

Davis was featured in two independent short documentary films produced and directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: America's Hottest All-Girl Band (1986) presented a history of the first racially integrated all-female jazz band in the United States.[3] Davis was one of six surviving band members interviewed in the film. In 1988, she was the co-featured artist in the documentary Tiny & Ruby: Hell Divin' Women that focused primarily on Davis' career after leaving the Sweethearts, as well as her more than 40 year relationship with Ruby Lucas. Tiny & Ruby had its premiere at the 1988 Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, with Chicago residents Davis and Lucas in attendance.[4]

Discography
  • Decca 48122 "DRAGGIN' MY HEART AROUND" (matrix #75440) // "I NEVER GET TIRED DOIN' IT" (75453) [released 12/1949]
  • Decca 48220 "RACE HORSE" (75438) // "BUG JUICE" (75454) [released 1950]
  • Decca 48246 "HOW ABOUT THAT JIVE" (75439) // "LAURA" (75455) [released 1951] note: all 6 tracks recorded 10/24/1949 (#75438/75439/75440) and 10/27/1949 (#75453/75454/75455).
gollark: What were they?
gollark: CB chrono xeno which I probably shouldn't have picked up is coming off cooldown in 5 hours. If anyone wants it, ask me or something.
gollark: Thanks for the celestial!
gollark: ***mine***
gollark: Hmm, I seem to be locked.

References
  1. "Her application for social security (filed in 1941) gives a birth year of 1910, but other sources, including a film interview, give 1909." Howard Rye, "Tiny Davis". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld, 2004.
  2. Kirkton, Kent; Willis, Deborah (2011). Identity & Affirmation: Post War African American Photography. Northridge, California: Institute for Arts & Media, California State University. p. 19. OCLC 767736688.
  3. Sher, Liz (Spring 1987). "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm". Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women. 4 (1): 59–60. ISSN 0741-8639.
  4. Smith, Patricia (October 2, 1988). "'Tiny & Ruby' relives era of hot jazz and fast living". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, IL. p. Show section, 8.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.