"This book is really, really important. It comprises a lot of history-- of culture, race, gender, and America. In many ways, Hazel's story is the story of the Twentieth century."
MURRAY HORWITZ
Co-Author, Ain't Misbehavin' & NPR commentator
HAZEL SCOTT
The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from Cafe Society to Hollywood to HUAC
by Karen Chilton
(University of Michigan Press)
Editorial Reviews
"Perhaps the highest compliment one can pay to this fine biography is that during the first 150 pages the reader is wondering why Scott isn’t better known, at least in the jazz world. But by the story’s end in 1981 with Scott’s death...the same reader knows exactly why, but is still likely to be singing her praises as a true trailblazer in African-American culture."
--JAZZ TIMES, Lee Mergner
Karen Chilton's highly-anticipated 'Hazel Scott' is both elegant and eloquent."
WIL HAYGOOD
Author of KING OF THE CATS: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
"Hazel Scott was an important figure in the later part of the Black renaissance onward. Even in an era where there was limited mainstream recognition of Black Stars, Hazel Scott's talent stood out and she is still fondly remembered by a large segment of the community. I am pleased to see her legend honored."
MELVIN VAN PEEBLES
Filmmaker/Director
“A wonderful book about an extraordinary woman: Hazel Scott was a glamorous, gifted musician and fierce freedom fighter. Thank you Karen Chilton for reintroducing her. May she never be forgotten.”
FARAH GRIFFIN
Author of HARLEM NOCTURNE
“Karen Chilton has deftly woven three narrative threads—Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Harlem, and Hazel Scott—into a marvelous tapestry of black life, particularly from the Depression to the Civil Rights era. Of course, Hazel Scott’s magnificent career is the brightest thread, and Chilton handles it with the same finesse and brilliance as her subject brought to the piano.” HERB BOYD
Author of Baldwin’s Harlem:
A Biography of James Baldwin