Valaida Snow - Caravan (Ellington), 1939

[TheOldjazzlover]

I believe her father was a circus bandmaster and Valaida earned every instrument in the band.

[writeronthebrink]

I am so glad someone posted this. Having grown up overseas, I have long known about her and was disappointed very few people in the States seemed to know of her. "She learned to play cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone at professional levels by the time she was 15." Despite having been in a Nazi concentration camp for almost two years, she survived and continued on. What a wonderful woman.

[pjdance]

And forget Melba Liston who was a legend on "The Bone".

[pjdance]

"Little Louis" Man she was stellar and ahead of her time as a woman playing a horn that was rare! Her and Clora Bryant were trailblazers for women horn players.

[pierreppaxel]

Very nice vocal version.Thanks.

[Pbrothers09]

sounds a bit like music from "the junglebook" :D great ! :P

[konasprocket]

@Pbrothers09 that was exactly my thought when we first heard it in our jazz band

[cgjardim]

MUITO BOM..!!!

[nitramgnal]

From Wikipedia, 'While touring through Denmark in 1941, she was arrested by the Nazis and probably kept at Vestre Fængsel, a Danish prison in Copenhagen that was run by the Nazis, before being released on a prisoner exchange in May 1942. According to jazz historian Scott Yanow, "she never emotionally recovered from the experience".'

That's hardly suprising.

[HoneyHoneyBaby]

Thanks so much for uploading this...Her voice & style are fresh, lively, and amazing! Nothing about her records sound dated at all. Her talent transcends time, its as though, this record was recorded today. It's that great, she was truly one of a kind, I've never heard a voice quite like hers.

[dengamlepraest]

WAUW never heard of her! she's great!

[Flizzaff]

More than great ! I want to hear Dukes "Caravan" from 1945 here on the tube.

[dirtyfrenchie]

i don't even know she played the trumpet ! thanks for this masterpiece

[closedcircle1]

@dirtyfrenchie She had the ability to play quite a few instruments.

[Geezyone]

Wow that is terrific, I wish there a movie of her life. In that it was fictionalized I didn't know what to do with the novel Valaida...but that could serve as a script.

[insomb]

what cd is this on?

[spartonboat1]

Wow, her horn style is very similar to 'pops' (Armstrong)...

[talkenhorn]

You go girl!!!!!

[gjford1951]

Ooh baby. What an enlightening reading of this song. The percussion takes you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go. It's consistently surprising. Thanks for posting this.

[umcloughlin]

Smouldering, sexy, sultry.....fabulous.

[poppalarge68]

Ok.. That entire clip just blew my mind.. The music, even now, is still very very hot, with so much bounce to it. Thanks so much for this clip.. My grandmother is gonig to flip when i show her this....!!!

[Yolandaria]

Super......thanks:))

[mustafaweewee]

PLEASE ! - don't forget, this was written by JUAN TIZOL (Puerto Rico)

and YES, This is FANTASTIC !!!!!!

[SebTari]

The best version

[robbourassaguitarist]

What a band. She's great in every way as well.

[myjollyboy]

Just read about Ms. Snow in the Legacy magazine. The summer issue is a musical tribute and there are a couple of articles about women bandleaders and musicians in jazz.

Thanks for your video.

K

[worange2008]

Part of a book I'm working on concerns female jazz singers. These women led tough interesting lives. Valaida's imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp has to be one of the most horrific events of any of these great artists.

[closedcircle1]

This is the best version out there alongside Joe Liggin's 40s non vocal sax version. No others can touch them.

[jazzzz1066]

A lady with an interesting life! She was called "Little Louie" because of her Satchmo influence. She bounced back after spending 18 months in a Nazi concentration camp. Ms. Snow headlined at the Apollo, appeared in movies and was on Broadway. Her last performance was at the Apollo in 1956, the year she died.

[amitmediratta]

amazing..this is one of my favourite songs to dance to. i hadn't heard of her before but she reminds me of vaughn de leath..

[closedcircle1]

This track blew me away. I accidentally discovered her and her music as an 18 year old in 1980. Her musical style is exactly what I go for from that period.

[dzheger]

I never heard about her until you uploaded two of her songs and wrote this incredible bio. Though I'm not an expert in this field, you would think that she would be famous in the USA: A black woman who had her own band, was a fine singer and trumpet player should have generated interest at a time when feminist ans black topics are popular with the literary and film industry -- moreover that her story is so absolutely amazing.

[dzheger]

She surely can both sing and play. Lively version -- the drum sound gives an exotic African Sahara feeling.