Gonzell White

Gonzell White (May 19, 1897 – date of death unknown), also written Gonzelle White, was an American jazz, blues, and vaudeville performer in the United States.

Gonzell White
A smiling Black woman with a curly hair dressed high at the crown
White, from a 1927 pomade advertisement
BornMay 19, 1897
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Other namesGonzelle White
OccupationVaudeville performer

Biography

White was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1897.[1][2] She performed as a blues, jazz, vaudeville, and burlesque act, and was first mentioned in reports in 1912,[3] and specifically as a blues singer in 1914.[4] She sang in various groups including as a duo with Edward Lankford, who was also her manager. They married in Kansas in 1920.[4]

She toured on various circuits and with various acts,[5][6][7] including with Lester Moore as White and Moore. The entertainer Pigmeat Markham was a member of her troupe in the mid-1920s,[4] and Gus Aiken also toured with her.[8] She performed at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York.[9] A review of her group, Gonzell White Jazzers, in the October 20 Kalamazoo Gazette, and other Michigan papers, gave favorable reviews of her headlining show that toured Michigan.[3]

The Chicago Defender ran notices and reviews[10] about White and her group including photographs.[11] She was part of the Booker T. Washington Stock Company.[3] Billboard also reviewed Gonzelle and her group several times.[10] White toured on various circuits including in Michigan and in Cuba. In Cuba she headlined as a singer and saxophone player. Her group included Billy Young, Alfreda Thomas, Mary Jackson as a soubrette, Earl Frazier on piano, Amanzie Richardson as a comedian and dancer, Freddy Crump on drums, Jake Frazier on trombone, Gus Aiken as a soloist on coronet, Harry Smith on coronet and as a dancer, and Ed Lankford on saxophone and as manager.[3] Her group included several influential acts.[12] She featured in advertisements for Exelento Quinine Pomade (a pomade).[13]

Count Basie toured with her group in the mid-1920s.[14][15] Basie described her as "more of an entertainer than a musician... She was a real pro with a lot of class... She was very light-skinned... the kind of small, nice-looking woman that you think of as being very cute. And, of course, she always wore fine, stylish clothes and costumes, and she also sported a diamond in one of her front teeth."[4]

Lankford died while the group was on tour in 1926.[16] White's later life is publicly unreported.

References
  1. Michael Rader and K.-B. Rau, "A Case of a Rediscovered Legend: The recordings of Harry Smith", Harlem-Fuss.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  2. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 10/07/1901 – 06/30/1948; NAI Number: 2945834; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85, via Ancestry.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019
  3. Sampson, Henry T. (October 30, 2013). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. p. 1499. ISBN 9780810883512.
  4. Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (February 27, 2017). The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville. ISBN 9781496810038 – via Google Books.
  5. Vail, Ken (January 2, 2019). Count Basie: Swingin' the Blues, 1936-1950. Scarecrow Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780810848825.
  6. "The Pittsburgh Courier from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 6, 1926". Newspapers.com. p. 14.
  7. Abbott; Seroff (2017). The Original Blues. p. 191 – via Google Books.
  8. "Record Research". Books.google.com. January 2, 1966.
  9. "Proctors on the vaudeville circuit". M.timesunion.com. December 8, 2016.
  10. "Record Research". June 21, 1966. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Google Books.
  11. "Black Press" (PDF). Rainerjazz.com. 1920. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  12. Driggs, Frank; Haddix, Chuck (January 2, 2019). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop : a History. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780195307122.
  13. "Gonzell White Praises Exelento". The Birmingham Reporter. August 13, 1927. p. 3. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Levin, Eric (March 22, 1982). "When Discussing Musical Royalty and That Foot-Tapping Thing Called Swing, Always Count Basie". People.com.
  15. Driggs; Haddix (2006). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop. p. 82.
  16. Abbott; Seroff (2017). The Original Blues. p. 369 – via Google Books.
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