Bonnie Wetzel
Bonnie Wetzel (* as Jean Addleman on May 15, 1926 in Vancouver , Washington ; † February 12, 1965 ) was an American jazz bassist for swing and modern jazz .
Live and act
Bonnie Wetzel is one of the few female jazz instrumentalists on the US jazz scene of the 1940s and 1950s . She first learned to play the violin as a teenager, then taught herself to play the bass instrument when her high school band needed a bassist. With her classmate Norma Carson, she became a member of Ada Leonard's women's big band ; then she played in the trio of guitarist Marian Grange . In 1949 she married the trumpeter Ray Wetzel ; the couple then played in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. After her husband's premature accidental death, she left Dorsey and played with drummer Elaine Leighton in the trio of pianist Beryl Booker ; they toured Europe in 1953/54, where they accompanied Billie Holiday and recorded with Don Byas . After her return to the United States, Wetzel worked as a freelance musician and made records with Herb Ellis , Charlie Shavers and Roy Eldridge . Wetzel suffered from cancer in the last years of his life.
Selected discography
- Beryl Booker Trio: Don Byas featuring Mary Lou Williams And Beryl Booker Trio (Vogue, 1953)
- Billie Holiday: Billie's Blues ( Blue Note Records )
Literature and web links
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette . 2nd Edition. Penguin, London 1994, ISBN 0-14-017949-6 .
- Richard Cook, Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD. 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
- Linda Dahl: Stormy Weather. The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen. Quartet Books. London 1984. ISBN 0-7043-2477-6
- Bielefeld catalog 1988 & 2002
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wetzel, Bonnie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Addleman, Jean (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz bassist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 15, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vancouver , Washington |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1965 |