Valaida Snow: Biography, Achievements, and Legacy

Valaida Snow was one of the earliest female jazz trumpet players and one of the most renowned musicians of the 20th century, with exceptional talents that didn't go unnoticed. She entered history as a singer, dancer, and musician who achieved international fame. She spoke many foreign languages, stood out due to her personal charm and could play a trumpet in the style of Louis Armstrong. Thanks to the latter, she became known as "Queen of the Trumpet". 

Let’s explore the key aspects of Valaida Snow’s biography and her professional achievements. 

Valaida Snow: Facts About Her Life 

As an African-American musician, Valaida had a life with lots of challenges, which she overcame thanks to her determination. She was born into a musical family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1904. Her father was a minister and a bandleader involved in show business, while her mother was a professional music teacher who graduated from Howard University. It was Valaida’s mother who sparked the interest in music in her daughter and showed how to play musical instruments. This resulted in the early musical career of Valaida Snow. She started performing when she was just three or four, and had her first tour at the age of five, traveling with a children’s troupe directed by her parents.

Valaida learned to play many musical instruments. By the age of fifteen she could play cello, guitar, accordion, harp, saxophone, clarinet, bass violin, banjo, and mandolin. But the trumpet played a special role for her. It’s said that she learned how to play it from Dyer Jones, known as one of the great female trumpeters of the 1920s. 

When Valaida was a teenager, she also demonstrated great skills in dancing, singing and acting.  Her ability to play the trumpet became the reason why she got her nicknames such as  “Little Louis”, because she played like Louis Armstrong, and “Queen of the Trumpet,”. “Little Louis” was the nickname given to her by Armstrong himself as he considered her the world's second-best jazz trumpeter besides himself.

Valaida Snow: Achievements and Challenges 

Not everything went so smoothly in Valaida’s life. Despite her great talent and ability to enchant audiences with her charisma, jazz promoters weren’t interested in promoting female musicians at the same level as male musicians. She didn’t gain the recognition she really deserved until she had several tours in Europe and Asia, where she performed as a singer, dancer, and a trumpet player. She also had fewer chances to perform at Chicago clubs as a bandleader, compared to opportunities given to male musicians. Even her early musical career did little to accelerate her success, as she only had her chance on Broadway when she was twenty. 

She participated in Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s production of Chocolate Dandies in 1924. Her international debut was in 1926, when she performed in London and Paris in Lew Leslie’s production of Blackbirds. Wherever she traveled throughout European and Asian countries she popularized American jazz and proved her talent. Snow was often entertaining European celebrities at expensive restaurants and interacted closely with French nobility. She liked to draw attention and engage in flamboyant behavior.

The 1930s are considered the period when she achieved the most success. In addition to her performances in Paris and London, she also recorded "High Hat, Trumpet, and Rhythm", which became her well-known hit. During this period, she performed in the Ethel Waters show, Rhapsody In Black. 

She returned to Hollywood in the mid-30s, and began making  films with her husband, Ananias Berry, who belonged to the Berry Brothers dancing troupe. Valaida Snow was featured in French movies, she was awarded with a golden trumpet for her excellent performance before Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. She was respected by famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong. However, despite her fame abroad, Valaida Snow really lacked the same attention in the United States. She never had the same success that her fellow musicians had in the United States. 

During her visit to Scandinavia in 1939, Valaida was arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp at Wester-Faengle, where she spent 18 months before being released as an exchange prisoner. Despite being physically and psychologically damaged, she continued performing. However, something changed in her.  She performed at the Palace Theatre in New York City in 1956 and that was the last show before she passed away. 

Valaida Snow: Legacy and Records

Although she didn’t create much of her own music, she became known for her talent in singing, acting, and virtuosic skills in playing musical instruments. Without exaggeration, she played a crucial role in spreading American jazz music far beyond the USA in the post-war period. Also, she entered history as a female musician who broke barriers. 

Her legacy features recordings of her performances, such as audio and audiovisual recordings offering a glimpse of how she owned the stage. However, again, she wasn’t recorded as much as her peers. But that doesn’t lessen her contribution as a musician. She had several commercial recordings in Europe and none in the USA. 

Conclusion 

Valaida Snow was a talented singer, performer, and a trumpet player with extensive tour life throughout Europe and Asia, who captivated audiences with her charisma and virtuosic skills. She became known as a female musician who broke barriers for women and Black musicians during a time of racial and gender discrimination. Her life was full of ups and downs. Despite personal challenges, Valaida is still considered an inspiring figure in jazz history. 

Would you like to discover more information about talented trumpeters? Recently we’ve shared an article about 4 Rock Musicians Who Played the Trumpet. 

If you want to prepare interesting and useful gifts for your friends who are trumpeters, check out our article about gift ideas for trumpet players. You can also find more ideas in the trumpet accessories category on our website.