Starting the Hazel Scott Book Quest
Got obsessed with Hazel Scott after seeing that viral piano duel scene from The Heat’s On last month. Wanted to learn more about this genius lady who smashed racial barriers, but dang – finding serious books about her felt like hunting unicorns. Started with the obvious move: slammed “Hazel Scott biography” into Amazon and Google.
The Frustrating Search Phase
Immediate problem? Most results showed me cookbooks or romance novels. Zero relevant hits. Refined to “Hazel Scott jazz civil rights” – still garbage. Remembered she married that congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., so tried searching power couples in Black history. Bingo! Karen Chilton’s bio “Hazel Scott: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist” finally popped up buried on page 3.
Checked my library app – waitlist 16 people deep. Ordered used paperback that smelled like grandma’s attic. While waiting, dug through university databases using my alumni login. Found “Swinging the System: Black Performers in Jim Crow America” – whole chapter dissecting how Hazel weaponized her artistry against segregation. Goldmine!
Building the Reading List
Put together my shortlist like this:
- Chilton’s biography for her personal struggles
- “Stormy Weather” by James Haskins covering her Hollywood battles
- Academic articles about her HUAC testimony meltdown
- That Powell dynasty book mentioned earlier
Realized nobody wrote THE definitive Hazel book yet. Most authors just gave her cameos in civil rights or jazz histories. Annoying but made me appreciate the scraps I found more.
Reading & Research Nightmares
The Chilton bio arrived with water damage on chapter 4 – exactly where Hazel’s McCarthy trial drama happens! Had to carefully peel pages apart with dental floss while reading. Meanwhile “Stormy Weather” kept mixing up her film dates with Lena Horne’s career. Fact-checking became part-time job.
Worst moment? Found an old Ebony Magazine interview referenced everywhere… but the archive scan was too blurry to read. Had to physically drag myself to the central library’s microfilm basement. Spent three hours fighting that cranky machine before capturing decent screenshots.
Pulling It All Together
Organized my notes chronologically:
- Trinidad childhood stuff
- Juilliard hustle era
- That insane period running dual careers in Hollywood and NYC clubs
- Her political awakening chapter
- The European exile years after blacklisting
Biggest surprise? How she created the first-ever American TV show hosted by a Black woman back in 1950. NBC canceled it after one season when she refused product placement from segregated companies. Iconic.
Final Thoughts & Regrets
Finished with mad respect for Hazel but frustrated nobody’s made a proper documentary yet. Our girl deserves better. Still hunting for her out-of-print memoir “Late and Alone” – saw one copy priced at $198. Nope. Might settle for digitized fragments I found in some archive newsletter. Worth it though? Absolutely. Now when people ask “who’s Hazel Scott?” I can shove three book titles at them.
