bebop spoken here: Dottie Dodgion (Sept. 23, 1929

From This Moment On

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Dottie Dodgion (Sept. 23, 1929 - Sept. 17, 2021)

Dottie Dodgion, singer, drummer and reluctant trailblazer passed away on Sept. 17 just six days short of her 92nd birthday.

She wasn't the first female drummer but she was certainly the most enduring holding down a regular gig until March 2020 when Covid stepped in.

Although I never heard her play an article in the March 20, 1969 issue of DownBeat has a photo of Dottie playing a gig with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. The article also gives an insight into her bubbly personality. After quoting Billy Higgins, Tootie Heath, Mickey Roker and Ginger Baker as being among her favourite drummers when asked about Buddy Rich she replied: "He plays good for a man."

Bob Brookmeyer chipped in with: "...she also smells better than most musicians."

Her autobiography, The Lady Swings, was published in March this year.

May she Rest In Peace -
Lance

The New Yorker obituary.