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ACCESS TO EACH ARTIST CAN BE FOUND IN THE 'BLOG ARCHIVE' (ARTISTS LISTED IN WEEKLY CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER) AND IN THE ‘LABELS’ SECTION (ARTIST NAMES, TOPICS, ETC.) ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOME PAGE. CLICK ON THESE RESPECTIVE LINKS TO ACCESS THEIR CONTENT:
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PHOTO: TERRY POLLARD (1934-1999)
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/terry-pollard-mn0001439043/biography
Terry Pollard
(1931-2009)
Artist Biography by Scott Yanow
Terry Pollard was quite active in jazz of the 1950s, although not too much was heard from her in subsequent years. She was part of the very fertile Detroit jazz scene in the late '40s and early '50s, playing piano with many of the major up-and-coming players and recording with Billy Mitchell in 1948. Pollard -- who worked with Johnny Hill from 1948-1949, Emmitt Slay from 1950-1952, and regularly with Billy Mitchell from 1952-1953 -- had her greatest visibility from 1953-1957, when she played piano and second vibes with Terry Gibbs' quartet. Pollard recorded with Gibbs and Dick Garcia and was gaining a strong reputation; in 1957, however, she chose to return to Detroit and raise a family. She recorded with Yusef Lateef from 1958-1959 and Dorothy Ashby in 1961 but eventually slipped away into obscurity, despite her talents. Pollard led just one record date: an album for Bethlehem in 1955. She died in the New York City borough of the Bronx on December 16, 2009 at the age of 78.
TERRY POLLARD
(March 12-18)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pollard
Terry Pollard
Terry Pollard (August 15, 1931 – December 16, 2009) was an American jazz pianist and vibraphonist active in the Detroit jazz scene of the 1940s and 1950s. She has been described as a "major player who was inexplicably overlooked."[1]
Pollard began her career by collaborating with other Detroit musicians, such as Billy Mitchell (and Elvin Jones, in the house band at the Blue Bird Inn),[2] Johnny Hill, and the Emmitt Slay Trio.[3] She was discovered by Terry Gibbs and toured with him in the early 1950s, playing piano and vibraphone. They recorded several albums, including Terry Gibbs Quartet - Featuring Terry Pollard.[4] Pollard appeared with Gibbs on an episode of The Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen.[5] Her collaborations with Gibbs from 1953 to 1957 marked the height of her career.[6][3]
Pollard also performed with John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.[5]
Pollard recorded a self-titled solo album for Bethlehem Records in 1955 and won DownBeat magazine's New Artist award in 1956. Pollard retired from her full-time music career shortly thereafter in order to raise a family, but she continued to play locally in Detroit and performed with artists including Diana Ross and the Supremes.[5] She was inducted into the Michigan Jazz Hall of Fame.[7]
Her contributions to the mid-century Detroit jazz scene were recognized in the book Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-1960, by Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert.[5]
Discography
- Terry Pollard Quintet (Bethlehem, 1955)
- Terry Pollard And Her Septet: Cats vs. Chicks - A Jazz Battle Of The Sexes (album shared with Clark Terry Septet, MGM 1954)
With Terry Gibbs
- Terry (Brunswick, 1954 [1955])
- Terry Gibbs [AKA Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard] (EmArcy 1955)
- Mallets-A-Plenty (EmArcy 1956)
- Swingin' with Terry Gibbs and His Orchestra (EmArcy, 1957)
With Yusef Lateef
- Lateef at Cranbrook (Argo, 1958)
- The Dreamer (Savoy, 1959)
- The Fabric of Jazz (Savoy, 1959)
- Angel Eyes, (Savoy Jazz, 1979) 2LP reissue of The Dreamer and The Fabric of Jazz
- Beautiful Flowers (Savoy Jazz, 2005) CD compilation of Savoy tracks
- At Cranbrook and Elsewhere (2009)
With Dorothy Ashby
- Soft Winds (Jazzland, 1961)
With Don Fagerquist
- Portrait of a Great Jazz Artist (2005)[8]
Reviving a Detroit jazz legacy: Terry Jean Pollard was queen of the vibes
by John Akers
At a recent James Tatum Foundation for the Arts benefit concert, special tributes were made to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and jazz pianist and vibraphonist Terry Jean Pollard. The foundation presented the Distinguished Jazz Award in Pollard’s name at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. For those who knew her, seeing Pollard’s name next to those of famous civil rights icons is not a surprise.
Yet, for numerous reasons, the late musician's name has never made it near the same status. This is why her son, Dennis Michael Weeden, and longtime family friend Daniel Hosper started the Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to individual development of female students by giving them opportunities to further their musical ambitions. The foundation's programs will provide instruments and educational materials to inspire students and the community with the legacy of the late, great "Queen of the Vibes."
"When I became my mother's caretaker, I was spending more time with her every day," Weeden says. "She would tell stories about playing and being on the road, and I realized there were other things that she would have liked to have done but couldn't once she became ill. She wanted to be a nurse because she loved helping people."
The goal of the foundation is to make sure Pollard gets the chapter she deserves in African-American history, and also to educate others in jazz musicianship, Weeden says.
Since establishing the foundation, Weeden and Hosper have reconnected with people from Pollard's past. "We are at a point of reaching out to the community in Detroit to rebuild the music identity of jazz in young females," Weeden says.
"We want young girls to see that other women have been there for a long time, and they're building on that. There are more females in jazz now than ever, and since starting this foundation, the thing I hear the most from people who knew her or saw her play is that my mother played better than anyone else does today. They say she's still the best. I want people to walk away saying, 'Wow I didn't know that, that's interesting' and have new role models to inspire young artists."
This may seem like a lofty claim, and an especially biased one, coming from Pollard's own son. But a few quick stories from Pollard's life might help fill in some gaps. "My dad frequented all the jazz clubs and he would take me to see Terry's matinees growing up," Hosper says. "Terry would drop off Dennis when she would gig, but I got to see a lot of her performances." Hosper recalls a particularly memorable performance. "One summer day, my parents dressed us in our Sunday best and said we were going to see Terry play at the State Fair," he says.
"We were sitting in the main pavilion, which seemed weird and out of context compared to the small clubs Terry normally played in. I saw Terry and her band walk onto the stage and take their places, and then the lights got super bright, and the Supremes came out and began to sing. After the show, we went backstage and Terry introduced us to all three Supremes. They seemed giant, like walking monuments to me. I was beyond words."
However, Hosper was confused why the best musician, in his mind, was playing as the backing band. "I asked my dad, 'How come Terry is playing for them?' and he explained how everyone requests Terry to play with them because she can swing harder and also has the finesse to phrase her piano-playing with a singer better than anyone else around."
Terry Jean Pollard was sought after by none other than John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie.
She was born in Detroit on Aug. 15, 1931. She grew up in the jazz-infused Conant Gardens neighborhood, and first began plucking away on the piano at the age of 3. When her abilities surpassed the challenges of her piano lessons, she would use the money for her lessons to buy ice cream for her friends.
By 14, Pollard was sneaking out of the house at night to play in jazz clubs. And by 16, she'd developed the skills and reputation to play professionally. She thrived during the late 1940s and '50s, performing with up-and-coming local musicians, as well as even bigger names when they came to town. In addition to the giants already name-dropped, Pollard played with Johnny Hill, Yusef Lateef, Emmitt Slay, Billy Mitchell, Dick Garcia, Terry Gibbs, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, and Duke Ellington.
Pollard first considered a professional career in music when she first was paid to perform. At the commencement ceremony for her nursing school graduation in 1948, the keyboard player for the band didn't show up. Everyone knew of Pollard's reputation, so the band asked her to play with them, and she blew everyone away. She made $15 for the one gig, and realized she could make good money playing jazz, so she decided to take it more seriously. She got a day job working at Hudson's department store, and started playing regularly at local clubs, specifically Baker's Keyboard Lounge, a popular spot for locals like Art Tatum and Gerry Mulligan.
During this period, Pollard recorded with Billy Mitchell, and began collaborating with other local musicians Johnny Hill and the Emmitt Slay Trio. In 1952, she was discovered by vibraphonist Terry Gibbs while playing at Beehive Bar. Gibbs was so mesmerized by Pollard's raw talent that he asked her to join his band on their North American tour. She joined the Terry Gibbs Quartet, on piano and second vibes. They toured for eight years, from 1952-1960, and recorded five albums together. While touring with Gibbs, Pollard was offered a solo recording contract with Bethlehem Records and recorded a self-titled album, released in 1955. Labeled as the Terry Pollard Quintet, it would be her only solo LP.
On Oct. 12, 1956, Pollard made history as one of the first black female jazz artists to appear on NBC's Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the early incarnation of The Tonight Show, when she and Gibbs played "Gibberish" and a rendition of "Now's the Time." They playfully battled each other on the same vibraphone (search YouTube to see it yourself). That same year, Pollard was awarded the prestigious DownBeat magazine New Artist award, and nicknamed "Queen of the vibes."
In 1960, Pollard quit the road — just as she was peaking on a national level — to stay in Detroit, and focus on being a mother. However, as Hosper explains: "The downfall of her career was being mistreated on the road: racial slurs, disrespectful medical treatment, not being able to sit with the audience after performing. The climate of racial adversity during her time really robbed her of a national career."
Pollard was simultaneously so highly recognized and so extremely disrespected that she decided it was not worth sacrificing her time and family.
"What if she hadn't done that?" Weeden asks. "She would be what most artists are today, who are too hungry for success. They give up their kids and family. I realize how much she sacrificed for me, so I'm on a mission for her now because she gave so much for me. We're doing this foundation to show jazz isn't a joke; we really want to help these kids."
Pollard continued to play locally in Detroit with the Terry Pollard Trio. "And every jazz great would request them to be in their rhythm section," Weeden says. "She also worked at Hudson's, had a day job. She worked during the day and would gig at night, and also raised her daughter Corby. My mother was a very strong and independent person; her playing shows that. She was also very Christian, and had nothing but a strong faith through all of her experiences."
Pollard was an active player throughout metro Detroit until 1978, when she simultaneously had an aneurysm and a stroke. This left her entire left side paralyzed, preventing her from performing again. In 1979, a tribute concert hosted by Steve Allen was held in her honor. After recovering and laying low in Detroit, Pollard moved to New York in 2000 to live closer to her son. She resided in a nursing home, where she entertained the other residents by playing the piano for them most days.
"Until her last days, she practiced every day with one hand, and was still better than most with two," Weeden says. "She never cursed or got mad about her condition. She never pitied herself. I could always come to her with my problems, but she would never let me pity myself." Pollard continued to play for friends and family whenever they visited, until her death on Dec. 16, 2009.
For both Hosper and Weeden, Pollard's character is just as inspiring as her musical abilities. "Terry showed me a level of unstoppable strength, courage, and faith that continues in my heart to this day," Hosper says. "I gotta believe she's rejoicing in heaven about what Dennis Michael, and I are trying to do. My parents and Terry loved this city, and we're blessed to have known her and to be able to use her legacy to continue to improve our community."
This is exactly the type of dedication and strong personality the two want to spread through their program, through Pollard's legacy. "We're getting the street she grew up on named after her, and that's sort of our starting point, but we're reaching out to more schools to show our program," Weeden says. "If you get the kids interested in jazz, the playing, and the history, it grows from the bottom up."
Through a program of DVDs and virtual classrooms, the music lessons will focus on the art of percussive instruments and are designed with the goal of making music and history fun to learn, beginning with students as young as kindergarteners.
Weeden is especially excited about reaching kids as soon as possible.
"As soon as we can get the kids started in the footprints lessons and they grow with the program, they will gain knowledge and experience," he says. "This is a musical journey for us as well as the students." The pre-K and kindergarten program provides a roadmap for strategic learning, grounded in the national learning standards in the arts.
The program has a larger goal than just teaching kids about jazz — it's really about creating opportunities for young women who might never consider the music business. "The Footprint is a result of collaboration between educators and representatives from the music and arts cultural communities," Weeden says. "Our goals are to educate young artists so that they can take advantage of various career opportunities available in the music industry. The future needs more trained female musicians, arrangers, composers, songwriters, engineers, and producers."
All of these plans rest on the hopes of raising enough money at the foundation's first fundraising event, which will take place in Detroit later this winter, titled A Terry Pollard Affair. The rest of the details have yet to be finalized, but will be announced soon on their website, queenofthevibes.wix.com/terrypollard.
"I'm living with this daily. And it's weird in a way, like she's still alive," Weeden softly says at the end of our long conversation. "I don't know how to explain it."
If the foundation achieves their goals, they won't have to explain Pollard's legacy to anyone anymore.
https://jazzwomenarchives.wordpress.com/2019/01/16/terry-pollard/
Terry Pollard
Today, I learned about another Queen. I was thinking about why most of the women I’m researching are hailed as “Queen of [insert instrument/genre]” (Of course, you also hear “King of…” all the time. It’s not uncommon for any gender, and the title borders on cliche I suppose.) Anyhow, I realized that there’s something special about the Queens you meet in person or discover from history. It seems a fitting title for those women you encounter that embody talent, leadership, generosity of spirit, confidence, willingness to work hard, and all with a certain “regal” air. I feel fortunate enough to have quite a few Queens in my life and now I can add Terry Pollard to the list.
“Queen of the Vibes” and an incredible pianist, Terry Pollard was a child prodigy — learning piano at age 3 and sneaking out of the house at age 14 to play in the jazz clubs in her home town of Detroit. At age 16 or 17, she began her career as a professional musician after making $15 to sit in for the keyboardist who didn’t make it at her nursing school graduation in 1948. After she realized she could make money playing jazz, she began to take it more seriously and started collaborating and recording with other local musicians such as Billy Mitchell. In 1952, she was playing at the Beehive Bar when legendary vibraphonist, Terry Gibbs discovered her. He was “mesmerized” by her playing and asked her to tour with him, which she did for the next eight years, recording five albums with him during that period. [1] She later said that those were some of the best years of her life. She also made television history, being one of the first black female jazz artists to perform on NBC’s Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1956. There is some great footage of this performance on youtube (see below) in which she plays a gorgeous and swinging piano solo and then trades seamlessly with Gibbs on vibes, both playfully, and with an incredible command over the instrument. It really is a marvelous piece of jazz history to witness.
Terry Gibbs Quartet with Terry Pollard
Her fellow musicians understood her value, though, both as a soloist and rhythm section member and she was sought after by the likes of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie. She even played with The Supremes. Again, Hosper talked about Pollard’s incredible musicianship and status in the community in a conversation with his father: “…he explained how everyone requests Terry to play with them because she can swing harder and also has the finesse to phrase her piano-playing with a singer better than anyone else around.” [1]
After settling back down in Detroit, Terry continued working with her own trio and others until 1978 when she tragically had an aneurysm and stroke simultaneously and became paralyzed in her left side. Her son says that she continued to practice with one hand, still playing better than most folks did with two. She played for her visitors and other residents in her nursing home most days ’til the end of her life in 2009. He says she “never cursed or got mad about her condition. She never pitied herself.” Again, family friend Hosper says “Terry showed me a level of unstoppable strength, courage, and faith that continues in my heart to this day.” [1]
Terry’s son, Dennis Michael Weeden and family friend Daniel Hosper “started the Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to individual development of female students by giving them opportunities to further their musical ambitions. The foundation’s programs will provide instruments and educational materials to inspire students and the community with the legacy of the late, great ‘Queen of the Vibes.’” [1] It sounds like they have a wonderful plan and I’m excited for it to grow and inspire our next generation of jazz musicians!
Here’s a YouTube Playlist of her work — be aware, some of the titles are labeled incorrectly on her solo album.
(Re)sources
[1] John Akers. “Reviving a Detroit Legacy: Terry Pollard was Queen of the Vibes.” (Detroit Metro Times. August 3, 2016. https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/reviving-a-detroit-jazz-legacy-terry-jean-pollard-was-queen-of-the-vibes/Content?oid=2458357).
Aubrey Everett. “Jazz Pianist Terry Pollard Dies at 78.” (JazzTimes. December 22, 2009. https://jazztimes.com/news/jazz-pianist-terry-pollard-dies-at-78/).
Terry Pollard: A Detroit Jazz Legend. Fresh Sound Records. (https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/terry-pollard-albums/6661-a-detroit-jazz-legend.html).
Terry Pollard. (Women in Jazz South Florida. http://wijsf.com/jazzwomen/terrypollard.htm).
Wikipedia contributors, “Terry Pollard,”
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Terry_Pollard&oldid=878478975 (accessed January 16, 2019).
https://queenofthevibes.wixsite.com/streetsign
https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/terry-pollard-albums/6661-a-detroit-jazz-legend.html
Terry Pollard
A Detroit Jazz Legend
Fresh Sound Records
Personnel:
Terry Pollard (p), Don Fagerquist, Thad Jones (tp), Gene Quill (as), Billy Mitchell (ts), Terry Gibbs (vib), Howard Roberts, Dick Garcia (g), Herman Wright, Bill Anthony, Alvin Jackson (b), Frank DeVito, Bert Dahlander, Jerry Segal, Frank Isola, Elvin Jones (d)
Reference: FSRCD 954
Bar code: 8427328609548
Pianist and vibraphonist Terry Pollard (1931-2009) was one of
the leading jazz musicians in the thriving Detroit jazz scene of the
1940s and 50s. She was a wellknown figure in her hometown as early as
1948, but it was not until 1953 when her musical talent achieved
national prominence, after Terry Gibbs—USA’s top vibraphonist—asked her
to join his quartet for a country-wide tour. Both played with such
authority, that Terry ended up tempering Gibbs’ usual irrepressibility
with the sobriety of her piano, the sensitive eloquence that flows from
her solos, and her uncanny ability to match Gibbs in the hard swinging
tunes.
This CD set gathers the best of Pollard’s piano,
highlighting the only album she recorded as a leader, but including too
the best of her performances with the groups of Terry Gibbs and
guitarist Dick Garcia. These are some memorable moments of her short
career, brilliant and wonderfully pulsating, full of consistently
well-conceived solos. She plays with the freshness and extended logic
conception of Bud Powell, but cuts Wynton Kelly and Horace Silver in the
strength of her playing, the irresistible impact of her emotion, and
the deep sureness of her beat.
In 1958, just as she was emerging
as an original voice, as an exciting asset to the contemporary scene,
Terry Pollard retired from her full-time music career in order to raise a
family. Still, she continued to play locally in Detroit, where she led a
fine trio at the Hobby Bar, and performed with visiting artists.
Tracklist:
Album details
Sources:Tracks # 1,2,5,7,8,11,13 & 16, from the 10-inch album
“Terry Pollard” (Bethlehem BCP-1015)
Tracks #4,10,12 & 14, from the 12-inch album “Terry Gibbs” (EmArcy MG 36047)
Tracks #6,9 & 15, from the 12-inch album
“Terry Gibbs –Mallets-A-Plenty” (EmArcy MG 36075)
Tracks # 3 & 17, from the 12-inch album
“Dick Garcia –A Message from Garcia” (Dawn DLP-1106)
Track 18, from the 7-inch EP “Billy Mitchell Quintet” (Dee Gee EP 4009)
Terry Pollard, plays piano in all tracks
Personnel on "Terry Pollard":
Howard Roberts, guitar; Herman Wright, bass; Frank DeVito, drums; Don Fagerquist, trumpet (#5,13,16).
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, January 10, 1955
Personnel on "Terry Gibbs" & "Mallets-A-Plenty":
Terry Gibbs, vibes; Herman Wright, bass; Niels Dahlander (#4, 10, 12, 14), Jerry Segal (#6, 9, 15), drums.
Recorded in New York City, Sept. 14, 1955 (#4,10,12,14), June 15, 1956 (#6,9,15)
Personnel on "A Message from Garcia":
Gene Quill, alto sax; Dick Garcia, guitar; Bill Anthony, bass; Frank Isola, drums.
Recorded in New York City, 1956
Personnel on "Billy Mitchell Quintet":
Thad Jones, trumpet; Billy Mitchell, tenor sax; Alvin Jackson, bass; Elvin Jones, drums.
Recorded in Detroit, 1953
Original recordings produced by Red Clyde, Bob Shad, Chuck Darwin & Dave Usher
Cover photo: (C) Herman Leonard Photography LLC
Other photos: FSR archives
Compiled for CD release by Jordi Pujol
Hi Fi / Mono · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
Press reviews
"Born in Detroit, accomplished pianist and vibraphonist Terry Jean Pollard (1931-2009) played and recorded locally with Thad and Elvin Jones in Billy Mitchell’s quintet (1952-53). She was then invited by Terry Gibbs to join his quartet on nationwide tours as pianist and second vibist. They subsequently recorded five albums together, and appear on seven tracks on this collection. When he first listened to Pollard, Gibbs recalled that she “played piano completely different (sic) than any girl I had ever heard” and then discovered that “she played the heck out of the vibes; as good as any vibes player... in those days". (In 1956 she won Downbeat’s New Artist award, and was nicknamed “Queen of the Vibes”). A hard-swinging I’ll Remember April encapsulates their musical and personal chemistry.In 1953 she released an LP titled The Terry Pollard Quintet - included on this album. On Scrapple From The Apple, a confident Pollard (on piano) plays a romping introduction, with a walking bass solo by Wright and spirited four-bar exchanges with DeVito. A then 28-year old Don Fagerquist makes splendid contributions to the lengthy Autumn Notes and Pollard’s jaunty composition Fedj. Also included in this retrospective are notable performances of Blue Room with Pollard underlining and linking short solos from Mitchell and Thad Jones (propelled by Alvin Jackson and Elvin Jones), an exhilarating Stompin’ At The Savoy, with fleet guitar from Garcia, and the distinctive alto of Quill on It Could Happen.
In 1960 Pollard retired from a full-time musical career - partly because of racial discrimination and segregation - and returned to Detroit where she continued to perform at jazz spots until she suffered a stroke and an aneurysm in 1978."
John White
Jazz Journal (April, 2017)
"Somewhere out there in the Detroit region there are unreleased tapes of Terry Pollard. The accomplished female pianist and vibraphonist recorded only one studio album as a leader. Terry Pollard was recorded for Bethlehem in Los Angeles in January 1955. She began her recording career in the early 1950s in Billy Mitchell's Detroit quintet. Then thanks to the keen eyes and ears of vibraphonist and bandleader Terry Gibbs, she joined his band and recorded seven albums with him from 1953 to 1956. She also appeared on TV with him that year. In 1958, Pollard retired from her music career to raise a family but in the years that followed she led a trio at Detroit's Hobby Bar and performed with touring artists.
Someone must have tapes of her playing at the Hobby Bar. Hopefully label gumshoes who specialize in unearthing such unreleased gems will find recordings by Pollard, who is woefully undocumented. For now, Fresh Sound Records has just remastered in mono (24 bit) Pollard's Bethlehem leadership album as well as select recordings as a sidewoman.
Chronologically, this Fresh Sound album begins with Blue Room, which Pollard recorded with Billy Mitchell (ts), Thad Jones (tp), Pollard (p,vib), Alvin Jackson (b) and Elvin Jones (d). Then comes It Could Happen to You and Stompin' at the Savoy from Dick Garcia's A Message From Garcia,featuring Gene Quill (as), Pollard (p), Garcia (g), Bill Anthony (b) and Frank Isola (d).
The next eight tracks are from Terry Pollard on Bethlehem from January 1955, featuring Don Fagerquist (tp), Pollard (p), Howard Roberts (g), Herman Wright (b) and Frank DeVito (d). The Bethlehem cover, featured only a series of blurry lights, which I suppose allowed buyers to think Pollard was a white male, which was more marketable than an African-American woman. The back did not include a photo either.
Every track on this Fresh Sound release is a joy, and the remastering makes the album a must own. Pollard, Hazel Scott and Marian McPartland were queens of the jazz piano in the 1950s. Pollard also was vibes royalty. As for Mary Lou Williams, she was in a league of her own.
Terry Pollard died in 2009.
Marc Myers (March 14, 2018)
http://www.jazzwax.com
"In this present era of atonal naval gazing at the ivories, this reissue by Fresh Sound Records remind us of a time and style when the swing pulse was inherent in every tune, be it upbeat or relaxed and casual.
Terry Pollard was part of the Detroit jazz scene of the 40s and 50s, never making a major name for herself outside the Motor City. This album (with illuminating liner notes to put her career into perspective) has her in a variety of soulful bop settings from the early to mid 50s with the likes of Howard Roberts/g, Herman Wright/b, Frank DeVito-Jerry Segal/dr, Terry Gibbs/vib and Don Fagerquist/tp. Her bop chops are in full light as she sizzles on tight trio pieces such as “Where or When,” “Scrapple From the Apple” and shows grace on “Lonely Dreams” and romance for “Laura.” With Fagerqust’s hip horn the team bounces on the Latin “Autumn Serenade” while with Gene Qull’s floating alto, the band swings on “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” Best of all is the closer “Blue Room with the formidable company of Thad Jones/tp, Billy Mitchell/ts, Alvin Jackson/b and Elvin Jones/dr on a hip and delightful “Blue Room.” This lady’s a cooker!"
George W. Harris (March 22, 2018)
http://www.jazzweekly.com
https://attictoys.com/terry-pollard/
Noal Cohen's Jazz History Website
Jazz History and Discography
Terry Pollard
In 1954, writer and critic Leonard Feather produced an LP entitled Cats vs. Chicks (MGM E255), one of a series of “battles of jazz” that also included West Coast vs. East Coast (MGM E3390) and Hot vs. Cool (MGM E194). The battle of the sexes involved a male ensemble featuring trumpeter Clark Terry, saxophonist Lucky Thompson, guitarist Tal Farlow and pianist Horace Silver. Their female counterparts included Norma Carson (trumpet), Corky Hale (harp), Mary Osborne (guitar), Beryl Booker (piano) and a young pianist/vibraphonist named Terry Pollard. Of the album, it can certainly be said that, at a time when female jazz instrumentalists were relatively rare and overt sexism was rampant, the ladies held their own.
Terry Jean Pollard (August 15, 1931 – December 16, 2009) burst onto the jazz scene in the 1950s as a pianist and vibraphonist of immense talent. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, a city known for producing some of the most original and influential practitioners of jazz and popular music, she began piano at an early age. As a teenager gifted with perfect pitch but having little formal training, she was already performing professionally in that city with the band of baritone saxophonist Johnny Hill and the trio of guitarist/vocalist Emmitt Slay. A recording with saxophonist Billy Mitchell and trumpeter Thad Jones in 1953 for the Dee Gee label offers the first taste of her mastery of the bebop approach.
It would be the vibraphonist Terry Gibbs who would propel Pollard to more widespread acclaim. Gibbs heard her in Detroit while playing an engagement there in 1953 and, in need of a pianist for his quartet, convinced the 22-year old to leave home and join him on the road. In his autobiography, Good Vibes: A Life in Jazz, Gibbs has the following to say about his first exposure to Pollard:
Then I heard this girl Terry Pollard who played piano completely different than any girl I had ever heard play. She played bebop and she could swing. I thought that maybe because I had a few drinks, this was the reason she sounded that good. There weren’t many female jazz players, and the few that were around mostly played the piano: ladies like Marian McPartland and Barbara Carroll, who played good but as the old cliche goes, they were “good for a girl.” They didn’t have that hard bebop articulation that Terry played with. She sounded like a man. Terry was the first female I ever heard swing that hard.
Superficially, the Gibbs-Pollard partnership seemed an unlikely one for the time – a Jewish man from Brooklyn and an African American woman from Detroit seven years his junior, and there were the usual racial problems involving accommodations and acceptance when touring certain parts of the country. But their act was generally well received, especially the vibraphone duets. Gibbs describes their opening at Birdland:
Opening night, we tore Birdland up. Charlie Parker was there. He heard us play and offered Terry a job. In fact, he came in every night and kept offering her a job. She turned him down and to make a long story short, she stayed in my band for four years. That was one of the winningest groups I ever had and it became a highlight of my life.
The four-year collaboration of the two Terrys generated a number of excellent recordings for the Brunswick, EmArcy and Mercury record labels as well as performances throughout the USA and Canada. Pollard won the DownBeat Magazine New Artist Award in 1956 and made a notable television appearance with Gibbs on the Tonight Show with Steve Allen. In 1957, the Gibbs quartet was part of the Birdland Stars of ’57 tour with headliners Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine.
I first heard her on the album Terry Gibbs (EmArcy MG 36047) recorded in 1955, a hard swinging affair from start to finish. I concur with Gibbs’ assessment of Pollard’s pianistic approach. The ideas pour out with great facility regardless of the tempo. She was clearly a disciple of Bud Powell and probably also influenced by Detroit giants like Hank Jones and Barry Harris. While there exists far less Pollard vibraphone than piano on record, what can be found is impressive and the video from the 1956 Tonight Show appearance clearly demonstrates that she could hold her own with her mentor, Gibbs.
After returning to Detroit for family reasons in late 1957, she remained active on the local scene for over 20 years, but participated in only three studio recordings, two with multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef in 1958 (Argo) and 1959 (Savoy) and one with harpist Dorothy Ashby in 1961 (Jazzland). But the list of artists with whom Pollard performed at venues like The Frolic, Klein’s, Club 12, Counterpoint, 20 Grand, Hobby Bar, Drome Lounge, Trent’s, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, Sonny’s Slave Market and Music Man Lounge is impressive and includes saxophonists Sonny Stitt, Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson and Pepper Adams, vibraphonists Peter Appleyard and Milt Jackson, guitarist Earl Klugh and vocalist Bill Henderson.
In 1976 and 1977, Pollard participated in a jazz seminar series at the University of Pittsburgh, organized by saxophonist/educator Nathan Davis. The concert that was part of the 1977 program featured a world-class lineup including trumpeter Woody Shaw, saxophonist Dexter Gordon and drummer Kenny Clarke, all of whom like Davis, spent time living in Europe and was, in part, a reunion of ex-patriots. The event was recorded but never issued commercially and further information on it can be found in the discography.
Not long after this memorable occasion, Pollard suffered a stroke that prevented her from performing (both 1978 and 1979 have been cited). She died in a New York City nursing home in 2009.
Although Pollard was a supremely gifted artist and a pioneer for women in jazz, she never reached her full potential. As a result, this discography is far shorter than it should be. There exists only one recording under her leadership, an eponymous LP for Bethlehem Records in 1955 recorded in Los Angeles with trumpeter Don Fagerquist and guitarist Howard Roberts featured on several tracks.
In 2020, while sexism still exists in our society, the jazz world now boasts many female instrumentalists whose skills and emotional power are the equal of or surpass those of their male counterparts. Playing “good for a girl” is no longer a cliché that is either accurate or relevant. Terry Pollard and the other women on that 66-year old Cats vs. Chicks album were trailblazers.
Print Sources:
Gibbs, Terry with Cary Ginell, Good Vibes: A Life in Jazz, Studies in Jazz No. 44, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, MD, 2003
Bjorn, Lars & Jim Gallert, Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-60, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2001
Squinobal, Jason, A Paris Reunion in Pittsburgh, International Jazz Archives, Vol. III, No. 3, Fall 2009-2010, p. 20
Online Sources:
Terry Pollard Detroit Metro Times Obituary
Terry Pollard JazzTimes ObituaryWomen in Jazz – Terry Pollard
Detroit Jazz Legend at JazzWax
Concert Database – Terry Pollard
Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation
Many thanks to:
Diane Biunno, Bob Blumenthal, Zach Brodt, David Demsey, Michael Fitzgerald, Terry Gibbs, Ehsan Khoshbakht, Vincent Pelote, Michel Ruppli, Dennis Michael Weeden
https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/jazz-pianist-terry-pollard-dies-at-78/
Jazz Pianist Terry Pollard Dies at 78
Terry Jean Pollard, a leading female jazz
pianist during the thriving Detroit jazz scene of the 1940s and 50s,
died in New York Dec. 16 after a long illness. She was 78.
An enthusiastic cheerleader and tireless Jazz supporter who told others
she was from “the home of the pros in Detroit,” Pollard got her
professional start at the age of 16, and recorded one solo album before
settling down to raise a family.
Born on August 15, 1931, Pollard got her first taste of the prolific
Detroit jazz scene by recording with Billy Mitchell in 1948. She then
collaborated with Johnny Hill from 1948-1949 and the Emmitt Slay Trio
from 1950-1952.
From 1952-1953, while Pollard was again working closely with Mitchell,
she was discovered at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit by well-known
vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and asked to join his North American tour as
part of the Terry Gibbs Quartet. Pollard played piano and second vibes
with the group, recording many songs with Gibbs and Dick Garcia, which
set her on track to ultimately hit the highest point in her Jazz career.
Pollard won a recording contract with Bethlehem Records and recorded one
solo self-titled album in 1955. The following year she won the
prestigious DownBeat Magazine New Artist award. During this time Pollard
performed alongside John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Chet
Baker, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington and Ella
Fitzgerald, and appeared with Gibbs on the Tonight Show hosted by Steve
Allen.
Shortly after recording her solo album, in the late 1950’s, Pollard
decided to return to Detroit to raise a family. She continued to
participate in the music scene, performing with local artists Yusef
Lateef and Dorothy Ashby, and headliners Bert Myrick, Earl Klugh and
Diana Ross & The Supremes in the Detroit area.
Pollard was a 60-year-member of the Detroit Federation of Musicians
Local 5 in Southfield, Mich., and won many awards during her career. She
was featured in the 2001 book Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-1960 by Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert.
Pollard leaves one son, Dennis Michael Weeden; a daughter, Corby Marlene
Swindle and their families. Funeral arrangements have not been
finalized.
Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation
http://detroitsound.org/remembering-terry-jean-pollard-2018/in-memoriam/2018/
Remembering Terry Jean Pollard
Terry Jean Pollard was known in the Detroit jazz community as “the queen of the vibes” for her mastery of the instrument. A Detroit bred pianist/vibraphonist, Pollard was a powerhouse performer who started out playing at jazz clubs around the city including a famous stint with the Billy Mitchell band at the Blue Bird Inn during the 1950s. She was discovered by vibraphonist Terry Gibbs while performing a gig at the Beehive Club in in Detroit in 1952.
According to Gibbs, “Terry was the first female I ever heard swing that hard.”
The Terry Gibbs Quartet featuring Terry Pollard toured nationwide between 1952 – 1960.
Another cool note I discovered about Pollard is that jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie offered Terry a job when they played at Birdland numerous times and she turned them down due to her loyalty to Gibbs.
I first learned about Pollard while reading the book Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit and became fascinated by her story and musical acumen. I wanted to learn more about her and why she was not as well known within jazz circles as some of her Detroit music peers. She was the force behind my research of other Detroit female musicians and was included in my presentation for Detroit Sound Conservancy titled “What About Us: Community Archiving and documenting the legacy of Detroit female jazz musicians.
Pollard passed away in 2009 and her son, musician Dennis Michael Weeden started a foundation called the Terry Jean Pollard Foundation in 2014 to honor the memory of his mother.
The Terry Jean Pollard Music Foundation is dedicated to individual development by providing students with preparation to further their musical skills. Through my research on Pollard I got to know her son Michael and have been helping him to preserve the legacy of his mother through adding her items to museums across the country. On July 28th, the TJP Music Foundation honored Pollard with a street named after her in the Conant Gardens Community where she used to live.
The street naming of Pollard is a huge step for the foundation and Weeden is continuing to make sure his mother”s work is brought to the masses through the organization and having her items archived in museums. To learn more about Pollard, check out the TJP website.
Dennis Michael Weeden reading about Terry Jean Pollard during the street naming ceremony.
Veronica Johnson is a project manager, freelance writer, and recent graduate of Library and Information Science with a focus on Archival Administration. She is also an advisor for Detroit Sound Conservancy. Her work has been featured in Metro Times, Real Detroit Weekly, Model D, The Jazz Line and IXITI. Her current research is focused on women in jazz. Her work on Detroit hip hop is published in the book A Detroit Anthology, which features articles, poems, essays, and photos about the city of Detroit. The book came out May 2014.
Someone must have tapes of her playing at the Hobby Bar. Hopefully label gumshoes who specialize in unearthing such unreleased material will find recordings by Pollard, who is woefully undocumented. For now, Fresh Sound has just remastered in mono (24 bit) and released Pollard's Bethlehem leadership album as well as select recordings as a sidewoman.
Chronologically, this Fresh Sound album begins with Blue Room, which Pollard recorded with Billy Mitchell (ts), Thad Jones (tp), Pollard (p,vib), Alvin Jackson (b) and Elvin Jones (d). Then comes It Could Happen to You and Stompin' at the Savoy from guitarist Dick Garcia's A Message From Garcia, featuring Gene Quill (as), Pollard (p), Garcia (g), Bill Anthony (b) and Frank Isola (d).
The next eight tracks are from Terry Pollard on Bethlehem from January 1955, featuring Don Fagerquist (tp), Terry Pollard (p), Howard Roberts (g), Herman Wright (b) and Frank DeVito (d). The cover featured only a series of blurry lights, which allowed buyers to think Pollard was a white male.
There are four tracks by Pollard from Terry Gibbs for EmArcy in September 1955, featuring Terry Gibbs (vib,p), Terry Pollard (p), Herman Wright (b) and Bert Dahlander (d)—Pretty Face, Nutty Notes, Lonely Dreams and Dicky's Dream.
And finally, three from Gibbs's Mallets-a-Plenty recorded in June 1956, with Gibbs (vib), Pollard (p), Herman Wright (b) and Jerry Segal (d). The tracks are Then It Happens, I'll Remember April and Mean to Me.
Every track on this Fresh Sound release is a joy, and the remastering makes the album a must own. Pollard, Hazel Scott and Marian McPartland remain the queens of the jazz piano in the 1950s. Mary Lou Williams was in a league of her own.
Terry Pollard died in 2009.
JazzWax clips: How remarkable was Terry Pollard? Here she is with monster vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, Herman Wright (b) and Jerry Segal (d) playing two songs on the Tonight Show with Steve Allen in 1956...
Here's Pollard with lyrical trumpeter Don Fagerquist playing Pollard's own great Fedj...
https://www.jazzwax.com/2018/03/terry-pollard-detroit-legend.html
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.
