Person Biography:
Born on June 11, 1920, in Trinidad and Tobago, Hazel Scott was a child prodigy who began playing the piano at the tender age of three under the guidance of her mother. She and her family moved to the United States in 1924, where she continued to hone her skills and began performing in New York City at the age of eight.
Scott's early mentors in jazz technique were the renowned pianists Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. She quickly became a club and radio star, performing with notable musicians such as Count Basie, and gained attention for her swinging versions of classical themes.
Scott's impressive career spanned the decades, with notable performances on Broadway, including "Singing Out the News" and "Priorities of 1942," and at Carnegie Hall. She also appeared in several musical motion pictures, including "Something to Shout About," "I Dood It," and "Broadway Rhythm," during the war-era.
Scott's most famous hit was "Tico Tico," and her boogie-woogie style proved extremely popular during the 1940s. Her versatility and ability to shift from jazz to classical to blues was incomparable, earning her the reputation as one of America's premier pianists of her time.
In her personal life, Scott married the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a noted Congressman, preacher, and editor, in 1945. She became the first black woman to host her own television show in 1950, but the show was canceled within months. Scott was subsequently accused of being a Communist sympathizer and refused to perform in segregated theaters, becoming a vocal critic of both McCarthyism and racial injustice.
After her divorce from Powell, Scott lived in Paris, where she performed and enjoyed racial freedom during the 1960s. She returned to the United States, marking a second career on TV with guest parts on shows such as "Julia" and "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors." Scott continued to perform in clubs until her death from cancer in 1981.
