“I had the field pretty much to myself; there weren’t many girl drummers”
If you think of female jazz drummers today a few will come to mind straight away:
Cindy Blackman, Sheila E (scovedo), Terri Lyne Carrington, Sherrie Maricle, the UK’s Michele Drees. In the pop world there’s Meg White from the White Stripes, Ruth Underwood who played with Frank Zappa and who could forget the drumming of Karen Carpenter, who was happy at the back playing drums before she was forced forward to sing. In a world where the number of female instrumentalists don’t equal that of their male counterparts these drummers must be thankful to the trailblazers of the 30s and 40s especially one particular musician, a drummer called Viola Smith.
Viola Schmitz was born on the 29th November 1912 in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin and became one of the first professional female drummers. Not only did she perform in orchestras and swing bands her playing was seen in films, TV appearances and on Broadway.
She gained popularity and earned her fame during World War II, which enabled Viola and other female instrumentalists the opportunity to ‘keep on swinging’ after the men went to war, perform to mass audiences, and be taken seriously, “given a chance”. There were groups such as The International Sweethearts of Rhythm who famously had Roz Cron, a white saxophonist and clarinetist musician in its otherwise all female, black group; Ada Leonard’s All American Girls; and the Prairie View Coeds who made a star of trumpeter Clora Bryant (who also played with Dizzy Gillespie). As the war ended men fell back into their old band positions while the female groups disbanded. Some would go on as soloists or have smaller groups but the time had past for the appreciation they received during this time; ‘substitutes’ rather than the real thing.
Viola came from a large family of eight sisters (and two brothers) who were encouraged to play at least one instrument. Their parents ran a concert hall so the family started a group to play for weddings and other social occasions held at their hall. Their performances grew out beyond the hall to Milwaukee and to other states. Viola’s father chose the drums for her, which she started playing at 11 years old and by 12 she was travelling with her female siblings around the RKO circuit as the Smith Sisters, applying for permits for the underage musicians. She says of the time:
“During the summer we’d play county and state fairs. In those kinds of venues it wasn’t so unusual to see an all-girl band because the fairs always featured the strange things that were happening in America such as the 800-pound man. As girl musicians we were part of that, we were strange in the early 1920s”.
On the Keith-Orpheum circuit they shared the bill with the Andrew Sisters. Some of the sisters moved on or got married but Viola stayed with the drums and created an orchestra for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show, a talent show in the 30s. She came to New York in 1935 with the Jack Fine’s Band Box Revue. Sister Mildred who played the clarinet and saxophone joined Viola in a female orchestra called the Coquettes, formed by them in 1938. They were together for four years and performed with musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb. She appeared on the cover of Billboard in 1940 and on the front of Variety on numerous occasions.
In 1942 she joined Phil Spitalny’s 22-piece band known as the Hour of Charm Orchestra and appeared on the radio program, The Hour of Charm, hosted by Arlene Francis. The program aired in various time slots on CBS and NBC from 1934 to 1948. The orchestra had commercial success and even performed at the inauguration of Harry Truman in 1945. Spitalny interviewed over 1000 female musicians before he settled on his choice. Viola recounted:
“In 1944, I was playing with the Phil Spitalny orchestra at the Paramount, on 43rd and Broadway. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, my father died. A relative called me and told me right before my show. In the theatre Phil Spitalny had already announced me and was waiting for me to play. I didn’t play because I had fainted, but somehow I remained upright on the chair. Spitalny indicated to the horn player nearby to come over and give me a shove, which she did, and I immediately came to like a robot and played the solo like a robot. However, I did miss catching a stick that I had thrown on a drum, bouncing up high and not being caught, accompanied by an automatic thud on the bass drum. I was told later there were gasps in the audience. I had told a friend in the orchestra not to tell the others that my father had died. It was easier to make it through the performance by pretending I had not received the news.”
It was while she was working at the Paramount that she met Frank Sinatra who was working with Tommy Dorsey. She said that he asked her on dates but she refused not because he was married but because he was unattractive to her. She went on to say that he would become very handsome and the request for dates stopped!
Jazz in New York during WWII was centred on 52nd Street – Swing Street – as it was known, featuring smaller versions of the larger orchestras such as a pared-down Count Basie band. These clubs were full of military personnel. She said that Louis Bellson came to see her during this time to see what she was doing with all her drums. She had lessons with Billy Gladstone who also taught Buddy Rich, Shelly Manne, Joe Morello and Gene Krupa when they came through New York with their bands.
At this time she ‘achieved notoriety for an op-ed that she penned for Downbeat, entitled “Give Girl Musicians a Break”, imploring jazz groups and orchestras [to] not discriminate against female musicians’. She also played with the Kit Kat Band; a group that was part of the original Broadway production of Cabaret, a time she says her playing was at its best. This led to a TV appearance with Liza Minnelli on Liza with a Z. As well as stage she featured in films such as When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1942) and Here Comes the Co-Eds (1945) featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. TV appearances included I’ve Got a Secret (CBS) and she appeared on the Ed Sullivan show (CBS) five times.
In 1948 she entered Juilliard via a scholarship and became part of the orchestra studying timpani and played percussion in 1949-50 with the National Orchestral Association. In 2000 Viola was one of eight women honoured by the Lincoln Center as legends of jazz.
She had a style of her own and became the face of Zildjan cymbals and Ludwid drums. Some named her the female Gene Krupa because of the way ‘she would hurl her drumstick onto her drum, then jump up in the air and catch it as it bounced’. She would set out her tom drums high, something she saw a drummer in Texas do. She played more than the average twelve drums adding toms to her left and right; the only drummer to have done this. Although she continues to live her life she gave up the sticks when she was sixty-six. She said of her playing, “When I play drums, I have to play loud”.
Long may her heart continue to beat.
Thwack! Let the rim shot be heard around the world, it’s Viola Smith’s birthday. Splash out the champagne, this centenarian does it again. Splash Viola, make a crash Viola, drums boom. Firecracker creates a new permutation, a new scene. No need to ghost note, your presence is heard. Hemiola to New York. Modulate to new, improviser, pocket the job. No vamping for you, centre stage. Toms piled high, left and right sustaining the scene, your timbre is strong. Thunder is the applause, roar for more. Reverberate for years, ostinato reputation. Your reach is as long as your stretch around the toms. Diminuendo, cut time, drums come to an end. But what a life, Viola? Vamps ever onwards for you. Happy Birthday 102! A dedication to Viola Smith (c) 2014 Sarah Weller
The legacy of all-female groups lives on:
Sherrie Maricle’s Diva Jazz Orchestra
Ann Patterson’s intergenerational Maiden Voyage – formed in the 70s and featured original ‘Sweetheart’s’ saxophonist Roz Cron
Alive – A ten-piece San Francisco band who released 3 albums from 79-82
The Seattle Women’s Orchestra – now in its 14th year
Tia Fuller Quartet
Deirdre Cartwright’s Blow the Fuse
Terri Lyne Carrington’s ACS – Carrington, Gerri Allen and Esperanza Spalding
Rachel Z’s all female trio on her first visit to London for her On the Milky Way Express release in 2001 with Miriam Sullivan on bass and Alison Miller on drums.
Ronnie Scott’s celebration International Women’s Day with a series of gigs under the festival of Women in Jazz in 2010
The Girls in the Band a documentary film based around The Sweethearts of Rhythm was released in 2013.
References:
http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/viola-smith
http://www.local802afm.org/2013/11/a-century-of-swing/
http://zildjian.com/News-Events/2012/11/Happy-Birthday-Viola
http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-1130-viola-smith-100th-birthday-20121129,0,4001070.story
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/owens-378190-years-viola.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Smith
http://jazztimes.com/articles/28868-a-brief-guide-to-all-female-jazz-ensembles
“I had the field pretty much to myself; there weren’t many girl drummers”
If you think of female jazz drummers today a few will come to mind straight away:
Cindy Blackman, Sheila E (scovedo), Terri Lyne Carrington, Sherrie Maricle, the UK’s Michele Drees. In the pop world there’s Meg White from the White Stripes, Ruth Underwood who played with Frank Zappa and who could forget the drumming of Karen Carpenter, who was happy at the back playing drums before she was forced forward to sing. In a world where the number of female instrumentalists don’t equal that of their male counterparts these drummers must be thankful to the trailblazers of the 30s and 40s especially one particular musician, a drummer called Viola Smith.
Viola Schmitz was born on the 29th November 1912 in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin and became one of the first professional female drummers. Not only did…
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