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'''Ernestine Carroll''', better known as '''Tiny Davis''' (born 1909 or 1910 &ndash; January 30, 1994)<ref>"Her application for social security (filed in 1941) gives a birth year of 1910, but other sources, including a film interview, give 1909." Howard Rye, "Tiny Davis". ''[[The New Grove|The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz]]''. 2nd edition, ed. [[Barry Kernfeld]], 2004.</ref> was an American [[jazz]] trumpeter and vocalist.
'''Ernestine Carroll''', better known as '''Tiny Davis''' (born 1909 or 1910 &ndash; January 30, 1994)<ref>"Her application for social security (filed in 1941) gives a birth year of 1910, but other sources, including a film interview, give 1909." Howard Rye, "Tiny Davis". ''[[The New Grove|The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz]]''. 2nd edition, ed. [[Barry Kernfeld]], 2004.</ref> was an American [[jazz]] trumpeter and vocalist.


Carroll was born in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], and picked up the trumpet at age thirteen while a student at [[Booker T. Washington High School (Memphis, Tennessee)|Booker T. Washington High School]]. She moved to [[Kansas City]] in the 1930s and joined the [[Harlem Play-Girls]] in 1935, playing with the group until late 1936, when she left the group to give birth. She became a member of the [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm]] early in the 1940s, playing with the group until 1947 including on [[USO]] tours during [[World War II]] and in the film ''How About That Jive''. She then formed her own band from erstwhile members of a group called the Prairie Co-Eds, which she called the Hell Divers. On June 25, 1950, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers performed at the sixth famed [[Cavalcade of Jazz]] concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles which was produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Identity & Affirmation: Post War African American Photography|last1=Kirkton|first1=Kent|last2=Willis|first2=Deborah|publisher=Institute for Arts & Media, California State University|year=2011|isbn=|location=Northridge, California|page=19|oclc=767736688}}</ref> Also featured on the same day were [[Lionel Hampton]], [[Pee Wee Crayton|PeeWee Crayton's]] Orchestra, [[Roy Milton]] and his Orchestra, [[Dinah Washington]], and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers ensemble recorded for [[Decca Records]] and toured through 1952, including in the Caribbean and Central America. Among her sidewomen was bassist Ruby Lucas, who became Davis's lover; they opened a club, Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot, in Chicago, near the end of the decade. She was active in performance into the 1980s, and died in Chicago.
Carroll was born in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], and picked up the trumpet at age thirteen while a student at [[Booker T. Washington High School (Memphis, Tennessee)|Booker T. Washington High School]]. She moved to [[Kansas City]] in the 1930s and joined the [[Harlem Play-Girls]] in 1935, playing with the group until late 1936, when she left the group to give birth.

In 1937, the Piney Woods Country Life School of Mississippi founded the 16-piece band known as [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm|The International Sweethearts of Rhythm]]. The purpose of the band was to financially support the school, which educated the poor and orphaned Black children in that state. But in 1941, the Sweethearts severed their ties with the Piney Woods Country Life School, moved to Virginia and recruited seasoned professionals to join their band, including Ernestine "Tiny" Davis. The Sweethearts were unique for the time as all-female and racially integrated group, featuring Latina, Asian, Caucasian, Black, Native American and Puerto Rican players.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=A Woman with serious swing, Ernestine Davis|url=https://aaregistry.org/story/a-woman-with-serious-swing-ernestine-davis/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=AAREG}}</ref>

Tiny played and toured with the [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm]] until 1947, including on [[USO]] tours during [[World War II]] and in the film ''How About That Jive''. [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm|The International Sweethearts of Rhythm]] also played the Apollo Theater in New York, the Regal Theater in Chicago, and the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C., where their debut set a box office record of 35,000 patrons in one week.<ref name=":0" /> In the 40s, [[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Cab Calloway]], among others, came and stood in the wings to listen to her. Later, her all-female band played opposite [[Louis Armstrong|Armstrong]] and [[Fletcher Henderson]] and jammed with many jazz greats. "I could have played with [[Count Basie]], [[Cab Calloway]]--the greatest," Tiny said. "But I loved them gals too much. They were some sweet gals."<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Reel Life: Tiny and Ruby and how they played|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/reel-life-tiny-and-ruby-and-how-they-played/Content?oid=872851|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Chicago Reader}}</ref>

After the Sweethearts disbanded in 1949, she formed her own all-female band from erstwhile members of a group called the Prairie Co-Eds, which she called the Hell Divers. On June 25, 1950, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers performed at the sixth famed [[Cavalcade of Jazz]] concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles which was produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Identity & Affirmation: Post War African American Photography|last1=Kirkton|first1=Kent|last2=Willis|first2=Deborah|publisher=Institute for Arts & Media, California State University|year=2011|isbn=|location=Northridge, California|page=19|oclc=767736688}}</ref> Also featured on the same day were [[Lionel Hampton]], [[Pee Wee Crayton|PeeWee Crayton's]] Orchestra, [[Roy Milton]] and his Orchestra, [[Dinah Washington]], and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. Tiny Davis and her Hell Divers ensemble recorded for [[Decca Records]] and toured through 1952, including in the Caribbean and Central America.

Among her sidewomen in the Hell Divers was bassist Ruby Lucas, who became Davis's life partner. They opened a club together in Chicago called Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot in the late 40s, which they ran through the 1950’s. Tiny and Ruby were together 40-some years, until Tiny’s death. Tiny was active in performance into the 1980s, and died in Chicago in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Tiny Davis|url=https://jazzwomenarchives.wordpress.com/2019/01/16/tiny-davis/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Jazz Women Archives}}</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==

Revision as of 18:26, 3 October 2020

Tiny Davis
Birth nameErnestine Carroll
Bornc. 1910
Memphis, Tennessee
DiedJanuary 30, 1994
Chicago, Illinois

Ernestine Carroll, better known as Tiny Davis (born 1909 or 1910 – January 30, 1994)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist.

Carroll was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and picked up the trumpet at age thirteen while a student at Booker T. Washington High School. She moved to Kansas City in the 1930s and joined the Harlem Play-Girls in 1935, playing with the group until late 1936, when she left the group to give birth.

In 1937, the Piney Woods Country Life School of Mississippi founded the 16-piece band known as The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. The purpose of the band was to financially support the school, which educated the poor and orphaned Black children in that state. But in 1941, the Sweethearts severed their ties with the Piney Woods Country Life School, moved to Virginia and recruited seasoned professionals to join their band, including Ernestine "Tiny" Davis. The Sweethearts were unique for the time as all-female and racially integrated group, featuring Latina, Asian, Caucasian, Black, Native American and Puerto Rican players.[2]

Tiny played and toured with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm until 1947, including on USO tours during World War II and in the film How About That Jive. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm also played the Apollo Theater in New York, the Regal Theater in Chicago, and the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C., where their debut set a box office record of 35,000 patrons in one week.[2] In the 40s, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway, among others, came and stood in the wings to listen to her. Later, her all-female band played opposite Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson and jammed with many jazz greats. "I could have played with Count Basie, Cab Calloway--the greatest," Tiny said. "But I loved them gals too much. They were some sweet gals."[3]

After the Sweethearts disbanded in 1949, she formed her own all-female band from erstwhile members of a group called the Prairie Co-Eds, which she called the Hell Divers. On June 25, 1950, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers performed at the sixth famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr.[4] Also featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, PeeWee Crayton's Orchestra, Roy Milton and his Orchestra, Dinah Washington, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. Tiny Davis and her Hell Divers ensemble recorded for Decca Records and toured through 1952, including in the Caribbean and Central America.

Among her sidewomen in the Hell Divers was bassist Ruby Lucas, who became Davis's life partner. They opened a club together in Chicago called Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot in the late 40s, which they ran through the 1950’s. Tiny and Ruby were together 40-some years, until Tiny’s death. Tiny was active in performance into the 1980s, and died in Chicago in 1994.[5]

Filmography

Davis was featured in two independent short documentary films produced and directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: America's Hottest All-Girl Band (1986) presented a history of the first racially integrated all-female jazz band in the United States.[6] Davis was one of six surviving band members interviewed in the film. In 1988, she was the co-featured artist in the documentary Tiny & Ruby: Hell Divin' Women that focused primarily on Davis' career after leaving the Sweethearts, as well as her more than 40 year relationship with Ruby Lucas. Tiny & Ruby had its premiere at the 1988 Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, with Chicago residents Davis and Lucas in attendance.[7]

Discography

  • Decca 48122 "DRAGGIN' MY HEART AROUND" (matrix #75440) // "I NEVER GET TIRED DOIN' IT" (75453) [released 12/1949]
  • Decca 48220 "RACE HORSE" (75438) // "BUG JUICE" (75454) [released 1950]
  • Decca 48246 "HOW ABOUT THAT JIVE" (75439) // "LAURA" (75455) [released 1951] note: all 6 tracks recorded 10/24/1949 (#75438/75439/75440) and 10/27/1949 (#75453/75454/75455).

References

  1. ^ "Her application for social security (filed in 1941) gives a birth year of 1910, but other sources, including a film interview, give 1909." Howard Rye, "Tiny Davis". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld, 2004.
  2. ^ a b "A Woman with serious swing, Ernestine Davis". AAREG.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Reel Life: Tiny and Ruby and how they played". Chicago Reader.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Kirkton, Kent; Willis, Deborah (2011). Identity & Affirmation: Post War African American Photography. Northridge, California: Institute for Arts & Media, California State University. p. 19. OCLC 767736688.
  5. ^ "Tiny Davis". Jazz Women Archives.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Sher, Liz (Spring 1987). "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm". Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women. 4 (1): 59–60. ISSN 0741-8639.
  7. ^ Smith, Patricia (October 2, 1988). "'Tiny & Ruby' relives era of hot jazz and fast living". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, IL. p. Show section, 8.


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