American jazz pianist,singer, actress, activist, and mother of one son Adam Clayton Powell lll. Hazel Scott was a very important part of jazz history, yet she’d never received the full accolades like most.
She was the first black to host her own TV show, Hazel Scott Show.
She was born on June 11, 1920, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to mixed raced parents. And, she died in New York City, October 2, 1981, of cancer.
Hazel was formerly married to a very powerful congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
It was said that her former husband often passed as white due to his mixed race heritage. They divorced and she had long since remarried.
Due to her activism work, fighting against racial segregation, she was blackballed and almost erased from history.
Hazel was also noted for standing up to the Have Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood Studio machine.
Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys cited Scott as her inspiration for her performance at the 61st Grammy Awards, saying: “I’ve been thinking about people who inspire me; shout out to Hazel Scott, I’ve always wanted to play two pianos.”
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