[Dixielandjazz] International Sweethearts of Rhythm (was Ina Ray Hutton)

[Dradjazz at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/9/11 4:23:05 PM, sbrager at verizon.net writes:


> International Sweethearts of Rhythm. This one was also a jazz big band 
> with some excellent soloists. They made several recordings through their 
> years of existence and they can also be seen on a few video clips.
> 

Stan --

I agree they were probably the best all-female Swing Band to record. 

Sorry you missed it but there is a section on the Intl Sweethearts   --   
including photos,   an article (see below), links and sound clips.   They're 
also heavily featured in the full series with over a half dozen of their 
tunes scattered about those programs available free for streaming online.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm (look halfway down the first page 
listed):
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/170.html

AND:

Women of Jazz (AUDIO)
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/18801.html

As you may be aware there are also recent books and a film about them which 
can be found for instance at Amazon.com.

Best,

Dave

************

INTERNATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM

A racially mixed group averaging around 16 women, the International 
Sweethearts of Rhythm was a hot Swing band equal to the best -- a powerful Swing 
band in the Count Basie style featuring a superb Lester Young follower, Viola 
Burnside blowing some amazing tenor sax.

It originated in the Piney Woods of Mississippi at a school for poor and 
black children in 1937. As the co-ed band quickly matured it moved to Virginia 
and began attracting professional musicians to its ranks; among them was 
Anna Mae Winburn, a singer who had been leading an all-male orchestra. During 
WW II most of the men in the band were drafted and the band became the 
all-female International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

They called themselves ‘International’ to signify their diverse ethnic 
origins: Hispanic, White and Asian. Beginning around 1940 the very popular 
Sweethearts performed at the Apollo Theater in New York, all over America (once 
appearing for an audience of 11,000 in Kansas City) and a tour of European 
USO clubs in response to overwhelming demand from black GI’s after WW II. 
However, on their frequent trips through the southern United States white girls 
in the band had to wear dark makeup onstage due to Jim Crow segregation.

The International Sweethearts were crack musicians capable of playing the 
toughest arrangements, some of which were written by arranger Eddie Durham 
from the Basie band. The Basie influence is very strong in the riffing style 
and driving rhythms of the Sweethearts. In my opinion, the star of this band 
is a powerful tenor saxophone player deeply influenced by Lester Young, 
Viola Burnside.

Recordings of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm have been exceedingly 
hard to get for years and sixteen long-unavailable tracks have just been 
recently issued on CD.