Betty Loo Taylor (February 27, 1929 – December 21, 2016) was an American

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the Musical ...

and musician, known as

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's "First Lady of Jazz." She was the subject of the 2003

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''They Call Her Lady Fingers: The Betty Loo Taylor Story'', by husband-and-wife filmmakers, Patricia Gillespie and Sam Polson. Taylor was born on February 27, 1929, and showed a natural musical ability as a child. She moved from Hawaii to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the 1940s, where she attended music school and became a pianist. She returned to Hawaii during the 1950s. Taylor performed regularly at the Trappers club in Waikiki during the 1970s and 1980s, alongside her longtime musical partner, singer Jimmy Borges, who also died in 2016. She continued to perform at the Kahala Hotel & Resort on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In 2008, Taylor won a 2008 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for a jazz album she recorded with Joy Abbott. She also received praise for her arrangements and accompaniment of Alvin Ing on his 2010 CD, "Swing With Ing" which included Loo's nephew Steve playing bass. In 2012, she was also awarded Na Hoku Hanohano's

lifetime achievement award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

. Betty Loo Taylor died at Palolo Chinese Home in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

on December 21, 2016, at age 87. Taylor, who was being treated for pneumonia at the time, had suffered a stroke approximately six months before her death.

References

1929 births 2016 deaths Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Musicians from Hawaii American jazz pianists American women pianists 21st-century American women {{Hawaii-stub