Dottie Dodgion (born Dorothy Rosalie Giaimo; September 23, 1929 – September 17, 2021) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer and singer.

Life and career

Dodgion was born on September 23, 1929, in

Brea, California Brea (; ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 47,325. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city ...

. As a child, Giaimo sang in the band led by her father, a drummer. She grew up in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

and sang with jazz guitarist Nick Esposito and bassist

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

as a teenager. An early marriage to Robert Bennett was annulled. After marrying

Monty Budwig Monte Rex Budwig (December 26, 1929 – March 9, 1992) was a West Coast jazz double bassist, professionally known as Monty Budwig. Early life Monte Rex Budwig was born in Pender, Nebraska, on December 26, 1929.His full birthname was Monte Rex ...

in 1952, she began playing drums, but Budwig tried to dissuade her from the instrument; she received encouragement to play from

Jerry Dodgion Jerry Dodgion (August 29, 1932 – February 17, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist. Dodgion was born in Richmond, California. He played alto sax in middle school and began working locally in the San Francisco area ...

and bassist

Eugene Wright Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Career Wright was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band D ...

, and subsequently divorced Budwig in 1954 to marry Dodgion."Dottie Dodgion". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

. Her new husband advised her to choose between singing and drums; she decided to concentrate on the latter. She worked with

Carl Fontana Carl Charles Fontana (July 18, 1928 – October 9, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. After working in the big bands of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, and Stan Kenton, he devoted most of his career to playing music in Las Vegas. Career Font ...

in Las Vegas toward the end of the decade and then relocated in 1961 to New York City. There she played in

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

's ensemble for ten days (her husband was also working with Goodman), but was fired for gaining more applause than her boss, Dodgion wrote in her autobiography. She was soon hired by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

who was performing at the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...

. Over the course of the decade, she worked with

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland Order of the British Empire, OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire, . PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English and American jazz pianist, composer, and writer. She was the host of ...

and

Eddie Gomez Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

and

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Car ...

Wild Bill Davison William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they ...

, and

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

and

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

. In the early 1970s, she worked with

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Bra ...

and

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

, then played alongside her husband in Germany with Walter Norris and

George Mraz George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stepha ...

. Dottie and Jerry Dodgion separated in 1975, and divorced a few years later. In 1977, Marian McPartland formed an all-female group with Dodgion,

Vi Redd Elvira Louise Redd (September 20, 1928 – February 6, 2022) was an American jazz alto saxophone player, vocalist and educator. She was active from the early 1950s and was known primarily for playing in the blues style. She was highly regarded a ...

, Mary Osborne and Lynn Milano. Dottie moved to Washington, D.C. for a time, where she was musical director of the club The Rogue and Jar, but the venue closed in January 1979. After moving back to New York City, she worked in the 1980s with

Melba Liston Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands, she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, ...

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

, Jimmie Rowles,

Carol Sloane Carol Sloane (March 5, 1937 – January 23, 2023) was an American jazz singer. Biography Born Carol Morvan in Providence, Rhode Island to parents Frank and Claudia (Rainville) Morvan, she began singing professionally when she was 14, although f ...

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

Tommy Flanagan Thomas or Tom Flanagan may refer to: * Thomas Flanagan (bishop) (1930–2019), American Roman Catholic bishop * Thomas Flanagan (Irish politician) (died 1980), Irish civil engineer and politician * Thomas Flanagan (priest) (1814–1865), English Ro ...

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

Sal Nistico Salvatore Nistico (April 2, 1940 – March 3, 1991) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Associated for many years with Woody Herman's Herd, Nistico played in the group from 1962 to 1965, considered one of Herman's best bands, with ...

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010) was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, Ellis grew up on a farm. He was first exposed ...

, Chris White,

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records as a house bassist to his later involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known f ...

, Joe Newman, and

Harold Danko Harold Danko (born June 13, 1947 in Ohio) is an American jazz pianist. Danko attended Youngstown State University. Among his credits are work in the big bands of Woody Herman and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as smaller ensembles with Gerry Mull ...

. After returning to the Bay Area in 1984, she played regularly at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

. Dodgion died on September 17, 2021, in a hospice in

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city had a population of 15,090 at the 2020 census. Pacific Grove is a popular tourist destination on ...

, after suffering a stroke. A daughter from her marriage to Budwig was her only survivor. An autobiography, ''The Lady Swings: Memoirs of a Jazz Drummer'', co-written by Dodgion and Wayne Enstice, was published by the

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...

in March 2021.

Discography

As leader

* ''Dottie Dodgion Sings'' ( Arbors Jazz, 1993)

As accompanist

With

* ''The Music Of Ruby Braff And His International Jazz Quartet'' (

Chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

, 1972) With

* ''Now's The Time'' (Halcyon, 1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgion, Dottie 1929 births 2021 deaths American jazz drummers American jazz singers American women singers Jazz musicians from California Arbors Records artists People from Brea, California 21st-century American women American women drummers Drummers from California