[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E217-E218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF HAZEL SCOTT--A TRIBUTE TO HER FIRST 
                  BIOGRAPHY, WRITTEN BY KAREN CHILTON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 4, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam, Speaker, today I rise to congratulate the family 
of the late and great Hazel Scott and the author of Hazel Scott's first 
memoir, Karen Chilton for writing such an important biographical book 
on a stellar Caribbean American pianist, singer, actress, and activist.
  In 1939, when Cafe Society, New York City's first fully integrated 
nightclub, was all the rage, Hazel Scott was its star. Still a 
teenager, she wowed audiences with her jazz renditions of classical 
masterpieces by Chopin, Bach, and Rachmaninoff. A child prodigy, born 
in Trinidad and raised in Harlem in the 1920s, Scott's musical talent 
was cultivated by her musician mother, Alma Long Scott, as well as 
several great jazz luminaries of the period, namely, Art Tatum, Fats 
Waller, Billie Holiday, and Lester Young.
  Career success was swift for the young pianist--she auditioned at the 
prestigious Juilliard School when she was only eight years old, hosted 
her own radio show at fourteen, and shared the bill at Roseland 
Ballroom with the Count Basie Orchestra at fifteen. After several 
stand-out performances on Broadway, club impresario Barney Josephson 
proclaimed Hazel Scott the ``Darling of Cafe Society.''
  By the time Hollywood came calling, Scott had achieved such stature 
that she could successfully challenge the studios' deplorable treatment 
of black actors. She would later become one of the first black women to 
host her own television show.
  During the 1940s and '50s, her sexy and vivacious presence captivated 
fans worldwide. She was known for improvising on classical themes and 
also played boogie-woogie, blues, and ballads. Her marriage to the late 
and great Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., whom I succeeded, made 
them one of the country's most high-profile African American families.
  In a career spanning over four decades, Hazel Scott became known not 
only for her accomplishments on stage and screen, but for her outspoken 
advocacy of civil rights. Her relentless crusade on behalf of African 
Americans, women, and artists made her the target of the House Un-
American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the McCarthy Era, 
eventually forcing her to join the black expatriate community in Paris.
  By age twenty-five, Hazel Scott was an international star but, before 
reaching thirty-five, she considered herself a failure. Plagued by 
insecurity and depression, she would try twice to take her own life. 
Her life came to a close, dying of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 61 
on October 2, 1981.
  Karen Chilton, a New York-based writer and actor who also co-authored 
``I Wish You Love,'' the jazz memoir of legendary vocalist Gloria 
Lynne, traces the fascinating arc of this brilliant and audacious 
American artist from stardom to ultimate obscurity. Readers will learn 
from the prelude to the civil rights movement to the dark moments in 
our nation's history where racial, ethnic, and political discrimination 
ran rampant.
  So Madam Speaker, I ask that in this Black History Month, that you 
and my distinguished colleagues join me in honoring the life of Hazel 
Scott and thanking Karen Chilton. Karen truly authored a book that many 
generations of future stars will cherish.
    

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