Barbara Kay Donald (September 2, 1942 – March 23, 2013) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter and bandleader.

Life and career

She was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States. Donald began playing trumpet aged eight in Minnesota, and her family relocated to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

when she was a teenager. Beginning in the early 1960s, she began touring with both

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and jazz ensembles throughout the US, and played with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interest ...

, Richard Davis,

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Franks, Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known ...

Prince Lasha William B. Lawsha, better known as Prince Lasha (), (September 10, 1929 – December 12, 2008) was an United States of America, American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, baritone saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and English horn player. Life a ...

, and

Sonny Simmons Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician. Biography Simmons was born on August 4, 1933 in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along w ...

. In 1964, Donald and Simmons married; one of their children, Zarak Simmons, became a percussionist. Starting in 1978, she began recording with her own ensembles, while living in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, for the label

Cadence Jazz Cadence Jazz is an American record company and label specializing in noncommercial modern jazz. It is associated with ''Cadence Magazine''. Cadence Jazz was founded by Bob Rusch in Redwood, New York in 1980. By 2000 the label had issued more t ...

. Her sidemen at one time included her son Zarak,

Gary Peacock Gary George Peacock (May 12, 1935September 4, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, pianist ...

Carter Jefferson Carter Jefferson (1946 – 9 December 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Jefferson played clarinet and alto saxophone early in his career, playing in the backing bands for The Temptations, The Supremes, and Little Richard in the 1960s. ...

and

Rahn Burton Rahn Burton, also Ron Burton or William Burton (February 10, 1934, Louisville, Kentucky - January 25, 2013) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Burton began taking piano lessons at age 13, and worked locally in Louisville before playing his f ...

. After experiencing a series of strokes rendering her unable to actively play live, Donald lived in an assisted care facility in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, from 1998 until her death in 2013.

Discography

As leader * ''Olympia Live'' (Cadence Jazz, 1982) * ''The Past and Tomorrows'' (Cadence Jazz, 1983) With

* ''

Staying on the Watch ''Staying on the Watch'' is the debut album by jazz musician Sonny Simmons. It was released as ESP-1030 on the ESP-Disk label in 1966. The cover photograph is a mirror image displaying Simmons playing left handed against the NYC skyline.

'' (ESP-Disk, 1966) * ''

Music from the Spheres ''Music from the Spheres'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Simmons. It was recorded in December 1966, and was released by ESP-Disk in 1968. On the album, Simmons is joined by saxophonist Bert Wilson, trumpeter Barbara Donald, pianist Mike Cohen, ...

'' (ESP-Disk, 1968) * ''

Manhattan Egos ''Manhattan Egos'' is an album by saxophonist Sonny Simmons. It was recorded at Sierra Sound Studios in Berkeley, California on February 10, 1969, and was released on LP later that year by Arhoolie Records. On the album, Simmons is joined by trumpe ...

'' (Arhoolie, 1969) * ''

Rumasuma ''Rumasuma'' is an album by the saxophonist Sonny Simmons, which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Contemporary label in 1970. Reception AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described the album as containing "exciting and very creative music." '' ...

'' (Contemporary, 1970) * ''

Burning Spirits ''Burning Spirits'' is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Simmons (credited as Huey Simmons on the initial release), which was recorded in 1970 and released on the Contemporary label. Reception AllMusic awarded the album four star ...

'' (Contemporary, 1971) * ''Reincarnation'' (Arhoolie, 2015)

References

Bibliography

*"Barbara Donald". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. Second edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Barbara 1942 births 2013 deaths American jazz trumpeters American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Minneapolis Jazz musicians from Minnesota