JAZZ RHYTHM received a Golden Reel Award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters for BEST NATIONAL MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT SERIES for the program, "Valaida Snow: Queen of the Trumpet."
In “Valaida Snow: Queen of the Trumpet,” and in the JAZZ RHYTHM series in general, I’ve tried to invigorate the music format by blending elements of documentary, sound design, interview, and storytelling to create a brisk, entertaining and moving experience for listeners.
Valaida Snow is completely forgotten today. I was amazed to learn of this uniquely talented woman: trumpeter and singer, dancer and choreographer, band leader and arranger. Feisty and beautiful she managed her own career, played half a dozen instruments, and spoke several languages.
Her truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story takes us from her Vaudeville youth in the Jim Crow South to stardom in black musical theater. By the ‘30s Valaida was a world traveler and a sensation in Europe: she was chauffeured around Paris in her orchid-colored limo, hanging out with Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker. After barely surviving World War II, she returns to success in America.
Valaida’s is an inspiring tale of determination and spirit never before told to a national audience and that could only be conveyed through non-commercial radio.
