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Margery "Marge" Creath Singleton (* 1899 in Ironton , Missouri as Marjory Creath , † January 5, 1982 in New York City ) was an American jazz pianist .

Career

Creath Singleton comes from a musical family; the younger sister of the leading trumpeter in St. Louis, Charlie Creath (trumpet), came into contact with the local jazz scene at an early age. She learned to play ragtime and helped out in her brother's bands. After graduating from high school, she accepted a permanent job with him, albeit without much enthusiasm: she found the boastful behavior of the male jazz musicians rather repulsive. Nevertheless, she led her husband's band from the piano. 1924 was the only woman at that time on a Mississippi - paddle steamer was active as a musician. Margery Creath was known for her earthy blues choruses and for "the strongest left hand" (Doc Randall) in town. However, it was not included in Charlie Creath's early recordings. She married Zutty Singleton , her brother's drummer, with whom she went to Chicago in 1925, where she stopped performing in public (after playing in a non-union band for three months). She advised her husband on musical matters, instructed his pianists and only helped out occasionally. Between 1941 and 1951, when the couple was in California, she occasionally played a few sets. As an important contemporary witness of the history of jazz , she has her say in books such as the Armstrong biography by James Lincoln Collier .

literature

• Sally Placksin Women in Jazz. From the turn of the century to the present Vienna: Hannibal 1989 (pp. 132–135); ISBN 3854450443

Web links

• Marge Singleton at Allmusic (English)