Bess Bonnier (born 26 May 1928 in Detroit; died 6 October 2011 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan) was an American jazz pianist, composer and music educator.[1]

Life and work

Bonnier, who was blind from birth, had classical piano lessons as a child. After graduating from Southeastern High School, she studied music and English at Wayne State University, but had to interrupt her studies to raise her three children as a single mother. In the 1960s, she earned a master's degree in English. She taught jazz piano for many years and performed at the Detroit Institute of Arts, at the Detroit International Jazz Festival and other local venues.

Bonnier presented a series of albums under her own name; in 1958 her debut album appeared on the Chicago label Argo.[2] Her other albums include Suite William (1999), a jazz cantata with texts by William Shakespeare, and Bess Bonnier and Other Jazz Birds (1985), in which she played with guest musicians including Roland Hanna and Pepper Adams.[3] In 1981 she performed with her longtime friends Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris and Roland Hanna at the Detroit Piano Summit in a New York church.[3]

In the 1960s she worked with the vibraphonist Jack Brokensha; their collaboration is documented on the album Xmazz, including their composition "Christmas Rag".[4] She was also an Artist in Residence for many years, in addition to working as a music teacher at schools in the Detroit area.[3]

Discographic notes

  • Theme for the Tall One (Argo 1958)
  • Love Notes (Rhino, 1988) mit Paul Keller, Cary Kocher, Pete Siers

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary by Susan Whitall in Detroit News 2011". detnews.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  2. ↑ "Argo Album Discography, Part 1 (1956-1965)". bsnpubs.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nachruf in Detroit Free Press". freep.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  4. ↑ Leslie Gourse, Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists, Oxford 1995, S. 215
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