Bonnie Jean Addleman, later Bonnie Wetzel (May 15, 1926, Vancouver, Washington - February 12, 1965) 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 ...

double-bassist. Wetzel learned violin as a child, and was an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

on bass. She played with

Ada Leonard Ada Leonard (July 22, 1915 – November 29, 1997) was an American bandleader. She was the leader of the All-American Girl Orchestra, the first all-female band to tour with the USO during World War II. The big-band leader was a performer with a b ...

in an all-female ensemble, and soon after worked in a trio with Marian Grange. She married trumpeter

Ray Wetzel Ray Wetzel (September 22, 1924 – August 17, 1951) was an American jazz trumpeter. Critic Scott Yanow described him as "greatly admired by his fellow trumpeters". Career Wetzel played lead trumpet for Woody Herman from 1943 to 1945 and for St ...

in 1949, and the pair worked in the

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Orchestra in 1951. She played in

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

's trio with

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), ...

in 1953; this ensemble toured Europe in 1953–54, and recorded for Discovery Records. She also played with

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

, Charlie Shavers, Roy Eldridge, and Don Byas. Later in the 1950s she freelanced in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She died on February 12, 1965, at the age of 38.

References

* Bonnie Wetzelat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzel, Bonnie 1926 births 1965 deaths American jazz double-bassists 20th-century American musicians People from Vancouver, Washington 20th-century double-bassists Jazz musicians from Washington (state)