Josephine Alexandra Mitchell (22 July 1903 – 23 November 1995) was Ireland's first female professional saxophonist.
Early life
Mitchell was born in 1903 in
Phibsborough
Phibsborough (; ), also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland.
The Bradogue River crosses the area in a culvert, and the Royal Canal passes through its northern reaches, no ...
, Dublin to Joseph Edwin Mitchell, conductor at the
Theatre Royale and civil servant for the Ordnance Survey and Gertrude Elizabeth Woodnut.
Musical career
From a musical family she learned the saxophone when young and performed her first gig when she was 11. She became a headline act when her brother, also a musician, took her on tour in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.She took on the stage name Zandra which was also used by friends. She was offered a place in an all-girls band touring
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
by an agent in the city. This took her through Germany and a witness to Hitler's rise to power. She played with legends like
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...
and
Jean ‘Django’ Reinhardt.
Later personal life
While she was in Berlin she had a daughter she named Constance Alexandra. She gave the child up for adoption to a Russian couple. She eventually married a Belgian man to enable her to get out of Germany.
On her return to Ireland Mitchell lived in a house owned by the family in
Rossnowlagh
Rossnowlagh () is a seaside village in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. It is about north of Ballyshannon and southwest of Donegal Town. The area's long beach, or if measuring from the cliffs to Carrickfad (long rock in Irish, which jut ...
in
Donegal, which she knew from childhood holidays. She spent the rest of her life living there, supposedly sleeping in the bathroom, almost a complete recluse. She never attempted to find her daughter but left her money in her will.
She died on 23 November 1995. She is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
In other media''Zandra, Queen of Jazz''
a play based on the life of "Zandra" Mitchell, written and starring Roseanne Lynch, was produced b
Darn Skippy Productions
and premiered in November 2019 in Dublin, Ireland. Directed by Katherine Soloviev and with original music and sound design by Richard Lennon.
See also
*
List of Irish musicians
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Josephine
1903 births
1995 deaths
20th-century Irish women musicians
Irish saxophonists
Musicians from Dublin (city)
20th-century saxophonists
Women saxophonists