The Harp: Do You See It as a White Instrument? Part II

Welcome back to Part II of my blog series “The Harp: Do You See it as a White Instrument?”. 

As we have previously discussed, if the average American were asked what they envision when they think of harp music, it is likely that their description would most closely match Western classical music. Their image of a harpist would most likely match that of a white woman, angel, or cherub. 

Conversely, if the average American were asked what instruments they think of when they think of jazz or swing music, the harp would unlikely be named at all. 

Silhouette of five players in jazz band, white background

Silhouette of five players in a jazz band, none of whom are playing the harp1

Allow me to challenge these prevailing images by introducing you to Olivette Miller, a Black swing harpist born in 1914. 

From left to right: Gene Sedric, Cliff Jackson, Olivette Miller, and Josh White2

What do we know about Olivette Miller?

It was very difficult to find scholarly secondary sources about Olivette Miller. In fact, Catalyst, the library interface for St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges, shows only 15 results for “Olivette Miller”, and they are mostly references in the context of her famous father or ex-husbands (I smell academic sexism). Google results for Miller include a sparse Wikipedia page3, IMDB page4, and an African American Registry entry5, each listing very few, if any, credible secondary source references. One of the best scholarly sources I could find was The New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts6, which only briefly mentions Olivette Miller under the biographical information for her father, saying she “was a renowned jazz harpist”. I searched for a recording of Miller playing the harp for a very long time, but only found a recording of her singing7:

What did a mid-twentieth century audience know about Olivette Miller? 

There are far more references to Miller in primary source newspapers, where you discover, after digging, that she was famous in her time. In a 1942 article within the Arkansas State Press8, shown below, a headline reads “Olivette Miller Featured With Noble Sissle”, a prominent jazz composer. The article informs readers that Miller studied harp at the Conservatory of Paris, which is no small feat. 

A newspaper clipping from the New York Age in 1948 announces that Olivette Miller gave a surprise appearance at Fisk University, calling her “New York’s boogie woogie harpist”9:

A clip from the Cincinnati Enquirer advertises Olivette Miller directly underneath Jackie “Moms” Mabley, calling Miller the “World’s Greatest Swing Harpist”10

I also found the advertisement for a movie called “The Joint is Jumpin’”, shown below, which stars and highlights Olivette Miller11. It appears as though the film is lost. Still, Olivette must have been featured because advertisers believed her fame would help ticket sales. 

In conclusion, we know that Olivette Miller was famous in her time, but that she has since been lost to history. What does her disappearance from modern-day discussions of jazz or harp say about race, identity, and representation in American music? Do we only preserve in our memories individuals who fit our expectations for race and genre? 

 

P.S. If you want to hear what jazz harp would sound like, here’s a recording from the only slightly more-discussed jazz harpist, Dorothy Ashby, born 18 years after Olivette12:

Footnotes

1 Amon, Markus. Untitled. Getty Images. Photograph. https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/03/09/519482385/sexism-from-two-leading-jazz-artists-draws-anger-and-presents-an-opportunity

2 Gottlieb, William P. Portrait of Gene Sedric, Cliff Jackson, Olivette Miller, and Josh White, Café Society Downtown, New York, N.Y., ca. Mar. United States, 1947. , Monographic. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/gottlieb.15891/.

3 “Olivette Miller.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivette_Miller.

4 “Olivette Miller.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589534/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm.

5 “Olivette Miller, Jazz Harpist.” African American Registry, 22 Aug. 2021, https://aaregistry.org/story/olivette-miller-jazz-harpist-born/.

6 Fullwood, Steven G. “Flournoy Miller Collection.” Flournoy Miller Collection, The New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts, https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20858.

Protone Records. “Olivette Miller – Look Up.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 May 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d_fFvFgECc.

“Olivette Miller Featured With Noble Sissle.” Arkansas State Press, 6 Nov. 1942, p. 7. Readex: African American Newspapers, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANAAA&docref=image/v2%3A12F3CB549363AB38%40EANAAA-1338AA535C345258%402430670-1338A17A590FB5E0%406-1382D12EF361EDE0%40Olivette%2BMiller%2BFeatured%2BWith%2BNoble%2BSissle. Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.

9 “Olivette Miller, Jazz Harpist, at Fisk University.” New York Age, 5 June 1948, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69869071/olivette-miller-jazz-harpist-at-fisk/.

10 “The Latin Quarter (Advertisement).” The Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Oct. 1947, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69852170/the-latin-quarter-advertisement/.

11  “The Joint Is Jumpin’ (1949).” DREAM13 Media, 10 Aug. 2021, https://media.dream13.com/the-joint-is-jumpin-1949/.

12  Regent Records. “Dorothy Ashby – Thou Swell.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 June 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYBTr6CxpU8&t=234s.

Florence B. Price

On June 15th, 1933, Florence Price made history: the Chicago Symphony premiered her Symphony in E minor, making her the first African-American woman composer to have a work performed by a major orchestra.

This work, originally subtitled “Negro Symphony,” draws on many of the stylistic traits of African-American folk music without ever explicitly quoting folk melodies;  instead of writing symphonic music around a 12-bar blues or a spiritual tune, as did many of her contemporaries, Price instead incorporates some of the harmonic and melodic elements of blues and spirituals into her own unique voice.  The resulting composition is strikingly original.

Despite the high quality of her music, Price had difficulty attaining performances of her work.  In a 1943 letter to Sergei Koussevitzky, she explains the manifold struggles she faces as both a female composer and a composer of color:

“Unfortunately the work of a woman composer is preconceived by many to be light, frothy, lacking in depth, logic, and virility.  Add to that the incident of race – I have Colored blood in my veins – and you will understand some of the difficulties that confront one in such a position”

In the remainder of the letter, Price asks Koussevitzky to consider one of her compositions, insisting that he make “no concession” on the basis of race or sex, but rather evaluate the score on its musical merit alone.  Despite receiving many such letters from Price, Koussevitzky never programmed a single one of her works.

The underrepresentation and erasure of Florence Price continues to the present day: after searching several databases, I found that there is only one recording of the Symphony in E minor that is readily available to the public.  Scholarly research on Price’s life is also relatively sparse, with the writings of late musicologist Rae Linda Brown existing as some of the only works that honor Price’s life and pay homage to her music.  The conspicuous silence surrounding Price in scholarly and musical discourses clearly illustrates the racist and sexist systems that ceaselessly oppress female composers of color.  Performing, researching, and recording the music of these underrepresented composers is essential if we ever hope to dismantle these systems and construct a new musical landscape that truly offers equal opportunities for all people.

Sources

Fabre, Geneviève, and Michel Feith. Temples for tomorrow: looking back at the Harlem Renaissance. Indiana University Press, 2001.

Price, Florence B. “Recorded Music of the African Diaspora, Vol. 3.” Albany Records, 2011.