Inquiry: Karen Chilton - HAZEL SCOTT: THE PIONEERING JOURNEY OF A JAZZ PIANIST

Born in Trinidad, by the time she was 5 years old it was obvious that HAZEL SCOTT was a piano prodigy. She and her mother moved to Harlem at the height of the Renaissance, and their home soon became a mecca for the likes of Billie Holiday, Fats Waller and Art Tatum. Ms Scott’s piano playing combined jazz with the classics. Filling in for Billie Holiday at Café Society, she soon became the toast of the town, “gallivanting around with Leonard Bernstein on one arm and Frank Sinatra on the other”. But this was only the start of her fascinating life. Hazel Scott went to Hollywood and made several films; ran afoul of the HUAC, married Adam Clayton Powell, and became a legendary expat living in Paris in the 60s. Tune in and listen to our conversation with writer and actor KAREN CHILTON about her stunning new biography HAZEL SCOTT: THE PIONEERING JOURNEY OF A JAZZ PIANIST FROM CAFÉ SOCIETY TO HOLLYWOOD TO HUAC.