Dottie Dodgion (born Dorothy Rosalie Giaimo; September 23, 1929 – September 17, 2021) 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 m ...

drummer and singer.

Life and career

Dodgion was born on September 23, 1929, in Brea, California. As a child, Giaimo sang in the band led by her father, a drummer. She grew up in the Bay Area and sang with jazz guitarist Nick Esposito and bassist Charles Mingus as a teenager. An early marriage to Robert Bennett was annulled. After marrying Monty Budwig in 1952, she began playing drums, but Budwig tried to dissuade her from the instrument; she received encouragement to play from

Jerry Dodgion Jerry Dodgion (born August 29, 1932) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Dodgion was born in Richmond, California. He played alto sax in middle school and began working locally in the San Francisco area in the 1950s. He played in bands w ...

and bassist

Eugene Wright Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Career Wright was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was large ...

, and subsequently divorced Budwig in 1954 to marry Dodgion."Dottie Dodgion". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. Her new husband advised her to choose between singing and drums; she decided to concentrate on the latter. She worked with

Carl Fontana Carl Charles Fontana (July 18, 1928 – October 9, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. After working in the big bands of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, and Stan Kenton, he devoted most of his career to playing music in Las Vegas. Career Font ...

in Las Vegas toward the end of the decade and then relocated in 1961 to New York City. There she played in Benny Goodman's ensemble for ten days (her husband was also working with Goodman), but was fired for gaining more applause than her boss, Dodgion wrote in her autobiography. She was soon hired by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

who was performing at the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...

. Over the course of the decade, she worked with

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

and

Eddie Gomez Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

and

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

Wild Bill Davison William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they ...

, and

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

and

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

. In the early 1970s, she worked with

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Braff ...

and Joe Venuti, then played alongside her husband in Germany with Walter Norris and

George Mraz George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...

. Dottie and Jerry Dodgion separated in 1975, and divorced a few years later. In 1977, Marian McPartland formed an all-female group with Dodgion,

Vi Redd Elvira "Vi" Redd (born September 20, 1928) is an American jazz alto saxophone player, vocalist and educator. She has been active since the early 1950s and is known primarily for playing in the blues style. She is highly regarded as an accomplis ...

Mary Osborne Mary Osborne (July 17, 1921 – March 4, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist and guitar manufacturer. She began performing at a young age and was featured on a radio program in North Dakota, where she grew up. In New York City during the 1940s, ...

and Lynn Milano. Dottie moved to Washington, D.C. for a time, where she was musical director of the club The Rogue and Jar, but the venue closed in January 1979. After moving back to New York City, she worked in the 1980s with

Melba Liston Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, ...

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

, Frank Wess,

Jimmie Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

Carol Sloane Carol Sloane (born March 5, 1937) is an American jazz singer born in Providence, Rhode Island, who has been singing professionally since she was 14, although for a time in the 1970s she worked as a legal secretary in Raleigh, North Carolina. In ...

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

Sal Nistico Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

, Herb Ellis, Chris White, Bob Cranshaw, Joe Newman, and

Harold Danko Harold Danko (born June 13, 1947 in Ohio) is an American jazz pianist. Danko attended Youngstown State University. Among his credits are work in the big bands of Woody Herman and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as smaller ensembles with Gerry Mul ...

. After returning to the Bay Area in 1984, she played regularly at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Dodgion died on September 17, 2021, in a hospice in

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, s ...

, after suffering a stroke. A daughter from her marriage to Budwig was her only survivor. An autobiography, ''The Lady Swings: Memoirs of a Jazz Drummer'', co-written by Dodgion and Wayne Enstice, was published by the

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...

in March 2021.

Discography

As leader

* ''Dottie Dodgion Sings'' ( Arbors Jazz, 1993)

As accompanist

With

* ''The Music Of Ruby Braff And His International Jazz Quartet'' (

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

, 1972) With

* ''Now's The Time'' (Halcyon, 1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgion, Dottie 1929 births 2021 deaths American jazz drummers American jazz singers American women singers Jazz musicians from California Arbors Records artists People from Brea, California 21st-century American women