Undomondo

Viola Smith and the Coquettes 1939

Viola Smith is the featured drummer with the Coquettes in this 1939 performance. Later, “In 1942, Viola Smith, a veteran drummer with 17 years of professional paradiddles under her belt, sent shock waves through the readership of Down Beat by extolling the existence of ‘hep girls,’ female jazz musicians ‘who could sit in any jam session and hold their own.’

5 months ago