Helen Elizabeth Jones Woods (October 9 or November 14, 1923 – July 25, 2020) 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 ...

and swing trombone player renowned for her performances with the

International Sweethearts of Rhythm The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...

. She was inducted into the

Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or the OBMHoF, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to celebrate, document and honour the legacy of the many top vocalists and musicians whose musical careers began in the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebra ...

in 2007.

Early life

Helen Elizabeth Jones was born on October 9 or November 14, 1923. She spent a brief period in an orphanage for white children in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

before being adopted by Dr. Laurence and

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

. They were the founders of the Piney Woods Country Life School, a Black boarding school with a strong musical presence.

Career

In her 1940s heyday, young Helen Elizabeth Jones was in the top female

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

in the United States. From an early age, Woods was fascinated by the slide motion of the trombone. She started playing with the group when she was only 11 years old, when it was still the "school band" of Piney Woods Country Life School in Mississippi. Helen was one of six surviving members of the band interviewed in the 1986 documentary film ''

''. After the band dissolved in 1949, Jones moved to Omaha where she briefly played in the

Omaha Symphony Orchestra The Omaha Symphony is a professional orchestra performing more than 200 concerts and presentations annually in Omaha, Nebraska and throughout the orchestra's home region. The orchestra was established in 1921. It is considered a major American orc ...

before being fired when the orchestra realized she was not white. After that she worked as a licensed practical nurse at Douglas County Hospital. Jones Woods and her husband, William Alfred Woods, lived in the

Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects The Logan Fontenelle Housing Project was a historic public housing site located from 20th to 24th Streets, and from Paul to Seward Streets in the historic Near North Side neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was built in 1938 by the P ...

while he attended

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

. Upon graduating, he became the first African-American to earn an accounting degree there.

Personal life and death

Woods was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a regular attendee at St Benedict the Moor in Omaha. Her fourth child is

Cathy Hughes Catherine Liggins Hughes (born Catherine Elizabeth Woods; April 22, 1947) is an American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. She has been listed as the second-richest Black woman in the United States. She found ...

, a business entrepreneur from Omaha. She died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on July 25, 2020, at a hospital in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

References

External links

International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection Spotlight, Because of Her Story, Smithsonian Institution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones Woods, Helen 1923 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Meridian, Mississippi Jazz musicians from Mississippi People from Omaha, Nebraska Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Swing trombonists Piney Woods Country Life School American women jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Nebraska 20th-century trombonists 20th-century American women musicians International Sweethearts of Rhythm members 20th-century American musicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida Women trombonists African-American Catholics African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women

Early life

Career

Personal life and death

See also

References

External links