Beryl Booker (June 7, 1922 – September 30, 1978) was an American

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

pianist. She was born in Philadelphia.

Career

Booker performed with Slam Stewart's trio in 1946, and played intermittently with him until 1951. She was Dinah Washington accompanist for a period. In 1951, she became part of the newly formed Austin Powell Quintet (consisting of former Cats and the Fiddle members Doris Knighton, Johnny Davis and Stanley Gaines, and also Dottie Smith) which recorded one Decca single entitled "All This Can't Be True" before disbanding.

Beginning her own combo

In early 1952, Booker led a quintet which played Birdland, featuring Don Elliot,

Chuck Wayne Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was an American jazz guitarist. He came to prominence in the 1940s, and was among the earliest jazz guitarists to play in the bebop style. Wayne was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, the f ...

Clyde Lombardi Claudio "Clyde" Lombardi (February 18, 1922 – after 1975) was an American jazz double bassist. After receiving classical training, Lombardi first performed and recorded with Red Norvo (1942–5) in a band which also included with Aaron Sa ...

and

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

. Recordings with Miles Davis sitting in on the group have been preserved.Schenker, Anatol. Chronological Classics: 1946-1952. Liner Notes In 1953, she formed her own trio with

Bonnie Wetzel Bonnie Jean Addleman, later Bonnie Wetzel (May 15, 1926, Vancouver, Washington - February 12, 1965) was an American jazz double-bassist. Wetzel learned violin as a child, and was an autodidact on bass. She played with Ada Leonard in an all-fema ...

and

Elaine Leighton Elaine may refer to: * Elaine (legend), name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend, especially: ** Elaine of Astolat ** Elaine of Corbenic * "Elaine" (short story), 1945 short story by J. D. Salinger * Elaine (singer), ...

(de) (nl) (1926–1912). This group toured Europe in 1954 as part of a show entitled "Jazz Club USA", which featured Billie Holiday. After another stint with Dinah Washington in 1959, she slipped into obscurity.

Later career

In the 1970s, she continued to perform and record with small groups.Dahl, Linda. ''Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen.'' London 1984; , p. 76. Philadelphia writer Thom Nickels, who knew Booker in the 1970s, nominated her several times for Philadelphia's Walk of Fame on Broad Street. The project to get Booker on the Walk of Fame remains in progress.

Discography

* ''A Girl Met a Piano'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

, 1952) * (With Teddi King) Round Midnight'' (Storyville, 1953) * ''Beryl Booker Trio'' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, 1954) * ''Don Byas with Beryl Booker'' (Discovery, 1954) * ''The Beryl Booker Trio'' (Cadence, 1954)

References

External links

* Beryl Booker at Allmusic 1922 births 1978 deaths Swing pianists Post-bop pianists Cool jazz pianists Women jazz pianists Musicians from Philadelphia 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Uptown Records (jazz) albums EmArcy Records artists Discovery Records artists Cadence Records artists {{US-jazz-pianist-stub