Dimensions
139 x 223 x 41mm
'Valaida listened hard. After the melody's intro and Earl's left-hand-to-right-hand cascades of piano sound, her space opened, and Valaida jumped in. She blew. She entered the music, saw the chords, embellishes, the references to other songs as plain as day behind her eyeballs, and she used them. She jumped from bar to bar like a benzine-fuelled billy goat. She didn't miss. She hit her peaks and whinnied in triumph. In the nebular light of the Terrace's mirror ball, she flew with the men who had backed Louis Armstrong at his best.'
From childhood in Chattanooga, to a debut in Harlem; from touring in the Him Crow south, to showcasing in Shanghai and London in the 30s, Valaida lived large, blazing a trail with charismatic energy and inimitable style.
Based on the true story of Valaida Snow, one of the first female jazz trumpeters, this is a fascinating, seductive and deeply imagined novel, a sweeping tale of love, degradation, laughter and longing. 'Valaida' is an exhilarating debut from a dazzling new talent.
