Emma Smock (4 June 1920– 13 June 1995), better known as Ginger Smock,"Hot violinist is TV Hit in Los Angeles"
''

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''. At Google Books. Retrieved 3 June 2013. was a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, orchestra leader, and local

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television personality. She is perhaps best known from her recordings with the Vivien Garry Quintet, though other recordings have surfaced recently. In addition to her work in

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, she performed with the All City Symphony Orchestra of Los Angeles.

Life and career

Born in Chicago, Smock grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from

Jefferson High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

. She studied violin privately with Bessie Dones, and at the age of 10 appeared as a soloist at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its disti ...

. She was featured on

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's '' Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

's radio program at the age of thirteen performing

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and '' ...

's ''

To a Wild Rose "To a Wild Rose" is the first piece from ''Woodland Sketches'', Op. 51, by the American composer Edward MacDowell. It was completed in 1896 and first published by Breitkopf and Härtel. Background "To a Wild Rose", one of the European-trained M ...

''. She earned degrees in music from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

, and the Zoellner Conservatory of Music. At the latter institution she was a pupil of Edith Smith. During 1944 she was leading a trio, with Nina Russell and Mata Roy. In 1951, she led an all-female sextette, featuring Clora Bryant, on the ''Chicks and the Fiddle'' show hosted by Phil Moore that broadcast for six weeks on CBS. In 1952, she was the featured soloist on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...

's variety show, ''Dixie Showboat''. On March 31, 1953, Smock recorded as part of a group, with

Gerald Wiggins Gerald Foster Wiggins (May 12, 1922 – July 13, 2008) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Early life Wiggins was born in New York City on May 12, 1922.Vacher, Pete"Wiggins, Gerry" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). G ...

, Freddie Simon,

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

, and Rudy Pitts, accompanying the vocalist

Cecil "Count" Carter Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada * Cecil, Alber ...

. Beginning in the mid 1970s, she spent ten years as concertmaster of show orchestras in Las Vegas. A violin owned by Smock is in the collection of the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

Recordings

* ''Ginger Smock: Studio and Demo Recordings 1946-1958''
AB Fable
2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smock, Ginger 1920 births 1995 deaths American jazz violinists 20th-century American violinists Women violinists 20th-century women musicians Musicians from Los Angeles Jazz musicians from California