Roz Cron
Rosalind Cron (April 23, 1925 – February 7, 2021) was an American alto-saxophonist.
Following the war Cron led and participated in female big bands, while teaching extensively. In later life, she lived in Los Angeles.[6] Cron is regarded as a pioneer of female big-band music.[7] She was the last surviving member of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.[2]
Biography
Early life
Cron grew up in Newton, Massachusetts and began playing music from the age of nine. She learnt flute, clarinet and saxophone, listening to a lot of big band music on the family's radio. She noted "my father was the first feminist I knew”. [6] She played in school bands and fellow students included Hal McKusick and Serge Chaloff. With Chaloff's backing, she was offered a spot with Eddie Durham's All-Star Girl Orchestra.[8]
After graduating Cron joined Ada Leonard’s All-American Girl Orchestra and then, at 19 (1943) was invited into the all female International Sweethearts of Rhythm in New Britain, Connecticut. [6] She was brought in as a professional to replace alto-sax player Marge Pettiford. [9]
Being from the American north, Cron had not encountered segregation before or the racial laws enforced in the south. Many of the International Sweethearts were African American or of mixed backgrounds, and in touring the segregated southern states, Cron was often charged with illegal mixing. Dark, Jewish, Cron was introduced by the diverse band as "part Russian" to give her an aura of ethnic mystery. She darkened her looks and permed her hair to increase the air of the exotic and to fit in with the other women. [4] The band bus often kept its shades down when travelling through the deep south and the women slept in berths on the bus, to avoid mixed accommodation laws. [6]
Cron was made head of the sax section and she noted that the experience deeply helped her improve her musical phrasing and allowed her to make contacts. Both elements supported her through her future years. With the band she met a wide cross-section of musicians in the US and Europe, from assorted backgrounds, which gave her a compassion, respect and empathy that she says underpinned the rest of her life. [9] Cron made her name and international reputation in the field as lead alto and featured soloist with the Sweethearts. [8]
Post war
In July 1945 Cron and the band recorded Jubilee Broadcasts for
Cron left the Sweethearts in 1946 and lived in
Cron married and raised two sons.[10][5] During her last years she was living in sheltered accommodation outside Los Angeles. [6]
Legacy
Cron was featured in the independent short documentary film International Sweethearts of Rhythm: America's Hottest All-Girl Band (1986) produced and directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss. The film presented a history of the first racially integrated all-female jazz band in the United States.[11] Cron was one of six surviving band members interviewed in the film.
Cron's story features in Swing Shift (2000) by Sherrie Tucker.[12] She writes of Cron's role in the Sweethearts; that they represented "intersectional feminists ahead of their time"; "women of color and white women; lesbian and straight, all loving each other and working effortlessly together".[6]
Cron is also profiled in the documentary film The Girls in the Band (2019), which traces the history of female big-band musicians.[13] Cron is regarded as a pioneer of female big-band music.[7]
The Smithsonian Institution has a collection of items related to the International Sweethearts of Rhythm donated by Cron and others.[14]
References
- ^ "Rosalind Cron". Mount Sinai Memorial Parks & Mortuaries. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Robin (December 31, 2021). "Saxophonist Roz Cron". knkx.org. Pacific Public Media. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (2007) Ed. Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Jews and Jazz: Improvising Ethnicity (2016) Charles B Hersch, Taylor & Francis, pp104-107
- ^ a b c d "Women of note", CBS, January 12, 2001
- ^ a b c d e f g h "'We loved each other': America's first racially integrated all-girl swing band", 16 December 2019. Guardian
- ^ a b "No Man's Band: All-Female Jazz Orchestras Then and Now", NPR, March 14, 2019
- ^ a b Oxford Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006, 4th ed.), Ed. Colin Larkin, Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c The International Sweethearts of Rhythm (1998) D. Antoinette Handy, Scarecrow Press, pp158-159
- ^ The International Sweethearts of Rhythm (1998) D. Antoinette Handy, Scarecrow Press, p117
- ISSN 0741-8639.
- OCLC 42397506.
- ^ Girls in the Band, 2019 film featuring Cron
- ^ "International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection | Collection | SOVA".