- Valaida Snow (1900-1956) has not been accorded the critical attention given her male jazz contemporaries even though she played in the major bands of the 1920s through the 1940s. This singer, band leader, and trumpeter, variously called “Little Louie” and “Queen of the Trumpet,” sang and played in shows, musical revues, concerts, and clubs throughout the United States. She appeared in one French war film, Alibi (1936), and two American films, Take It From Me (1932), and Irresistible You (1944). A skillful player of many instruments, this versatile artist made extensive tours of the Far East and Europe. Captured by the Nazis, she was released in a 1942 prisoner of war exchange.
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