Violet May Burnside (April 19, 1915, Lancaster, Pennsylvania – November 19, 1964, Washington, DC) 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 ...

saxophonist and bandleader. Burnside worked for much of her career in all-female bands. She worked in Bill Baldwin's group in the mid-1930s, joined the Dixie Rhythm Girls in 1937, then joined the Harlem Play-Girls in 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she joined 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 ...

and played

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

concerts with them. She continued with this ensemble until 1949, then formed her own group, which toured as Vi Burnside's All-Girl Band and Vi Burnside's All Stars. Her sidewomen included Flo Dreyer and Pauline Braddy; the group toured mostly in the mid-Atlantic region. She played with

Anna Mae Winburn Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...

in Harlem in 1953, and worked with her own groups into the 1960s, in addition to acting as an official in a local DC musicians' union.

References

*Howard Rye, "Violet Burnside". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.

External links

International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection Spotlight, Because of Her Story, Smithsonian Institution
American jazz saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 1915 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists Women jazz saxophonists 20th-century women musicians Musicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania International Sweethearts of Rhythm members {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub