Bess Bonnier
Bess Bonnier (born May 26, 1928 in Detroit ; † October 6, 2011 in Grosse Pointe , Michigan ) was an American jazz pianist (also vocals), composer and music teacher .
Life
Bonnier, who was blind from birth , had classical piano lessons as a child (five years in public schools in Detroit). After finishing school, she took two years' tuition from Bendetsen Netzorg and studied Art Tatum's solos with H. DeRemer. At Jefferson Junior High School in Detroit she played piano in the dance band for three years (1941) and played with Mike Norsesian while she was in high school from 1944 to 1946. After graduating from Southeastern High School, she studied music and English at Wayne State University , but had to interrupt her studies to raise three children as a single mother. From 1946 to 1954 she played as a freelancer with Kenny Burrell , Doug Watkins , Paul Chambers , Billy Mitchell , Leo Osebald , Bill Spencer , Art Mardigan , Johnny and Marion DeVita, Major Holley , Pepper Adams , Al Aarons, among others . 1954/55 she played in the band of Dave Heard and Tate Houston and 1955 to 1960 and 1961 to 1965 in her own trio. In 1960/61 and from 1965 to 1970 she played with Jack Brokensha . In the 1960s, she earned a master's degree in English. She taught jazz piano for many years and was artist in residence in Detroit public schools from 1973 to 1976. She taught at Grosse Point North High School in the 1980s and 1990 to 1994 and founded the Grosse Point Academy of Music in 1994. She kicked u. a. at the Detroit Institute of Arts , the Detroit Piano Summit (1982, in New York), the Detroit Jazz Festival, the annual Montreux-Detroit Festival and other local venues. In 1983 she performed solo at the Kool Jazz Festival in New York and at the SUNY Purchase.
Bonnier submitted a number of albums under his own name; In 1958 her debut album appeared on the Chicago label Argo . Her other albums include Suite William (1999), a jazz cantata with texts by William Shakespeare , and Bess Bonnier and Other Jazz Birds (1985), in which she played with guest musicians such as Roland Hanna and Pepper Adams . In 1981 she performed at the Detroit Piano Summit in a New York church with long-time friends Tommy Flanagan , Barry Harris and Roland Hanna . Her favorite musicians in Feather / Gitler named Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Hank Jones , Bill Evans .
In the 1960s she worked with vibraphonist Jack Brokensha; their cooperation is documented on his album Xmazz , which also includes their composition "Christmas Rag". For many years she was also active as an artist in residence and as a music teacher in schools in the Detroit area.
In 1986 she was named Women of the Year at Wayne State University and Artist of the Year at the Michigan State Foundation for the Arts. In 1990 she received the Michigan State Governor's Award.
literature
- Entry in Feather, Gitler, The biographical encyclopedia of Jazz , Oxford UP 1999
Discographic notes
- Theme for the Tall One (Argo 1958)
- Love Notes (Rhino, 1988) with Paul Keller, Cary Kocher, Pete Siers
- Noteworks with Brokensha, AEM
She had her own Noteworks label .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Obituary by Susan Whitall in Detroit News 2011
- ^ Argo discography
- ↑ a b c Obituary in Detroit Free Press ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Leslie Gourse , Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists , Oxford 1995, p. 215
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bonnier, Bess |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist (also singing), composer and music teacher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 26, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Detroit |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 6, 2011 |
| Place of death | Grosse Pointe , Michigan |