Terry Pollard
Terry Pollard (August 15, 1931 - December 16, 2009) was a jazz pianist prominent 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. She recorded an album with him, 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.[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 the Down Beat Magazine 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 visiting artists, including Diana Ross and the Supremes.[5] She was inducted into the Michigan Jazz Hall of Fame.[6]
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
As leader
- Terry Pollard (Bethlehem, 1955)
Other recordings
With Dorothy Ashby
- Soft Winds (Jazzland, 1961)
With Terry Gibbs
- Terry Gibbs Quintet (Brunswick, 1953)
- Swingin' with Terry Gibbs and His Orchestra (EmArcy, 1956)
With Yusef Lateef
- Lateef at Cranbrook (Argo, 1958)
- The Dreamer (Savoy, 1959)
- The Fabric of Jazz (Savoy, 1959)
References
- ↑ Chell, Samuel (23 October 2007). "Terry Gibbs: Terry Gibbs Quartet Featuring Terry Pollard (2007)". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ Björn, Lars Olof (2001) Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit, 1920-60, p. 126. University of Michigan Press At Google Books. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yanow, Scott. "Terry Pollard: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Terry Gibbs Quartet - Featuring Terry Pollard - Terry Gibbs - Blues Sounds". Freshsoundrecords.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Everett, Aubrey (1931-08-15). "Jazz Articles: Jazz Pianist Terry Pollard Dies at 78 - By Aubrey Everett — Jazz Articles". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
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