Spent some time today reading the Nampa newspaper, the Idaho Free Press, for 1936. I stumbled across an interesting advertisement for Shadowland, which must have been a dance club, in the summer of 1936, advertising an appearance of The Harlem Playgirls. Of course my interest was piqued since neither the dance club nor the band is familiar to me. So, after a little digging (very little really), I found a great reference, a book called Some Liked It Hot: Jazz Women in Film and Television, 1928-1959 by Kristin A. McGee (Wesleyan University, 2009), which features the band (pages 51-56). Their appearance in Nampa appears to have been part of a summer tour in 1936. Havent located a review for Nampa, but heres a review from Denver, quoted by McGee: This is the hottest orchestra that was ever heard here. They are not only musicians, but entertainers of the highest type producing their floor [show] from members of the orchestra. Eddie Crump, directress, really knows what a baton is made for and she is an artist at producing swing music. (T.S. Williams 1936). The band became very popular and continued to perform until about 1940, when many of the members moved on to other groups. The photo is from a Flickr photostream posted by Laetitia Jones, who identified the trombone player at the far right as her great-great grandmother Frances Byrd Johnson, and the drummer as her great-aunt Jennie Byrd. Still havent found anything about Shadowland, but Im sure something will turn up. :) EJ
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 23:56:02 +0000
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