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Miriam “Mamie“ Moffitt

Miriam “Mamie“ Moffitt (1884 in New Bedford, Massachusetts – 17 October 1954 in Mashpee, Massachusetts), nee Miriam Leona Seals, was an American jazz pianist and band leader with Afro-American and Native American roots. Known to the early jazz world as "Mamie Seals" and later "Mamie Moffitt", she is considered one of the pioneers of jazz in Massachusetts. She gave her first performances in her hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts and on Cape Cod. Later, she moved to New York City. She accompanied dancers as well as silent films and played on cruise ships, both as a soloist and band member.

In 1901 Mamie Seals married John Thomas. Together, they moved to New York City, where she continued to perform and also began teaching. Among her students were Noble Sissle and, briefly, Lionel Hampton. After separating from John Thomas she returned to New Bedford with her two daughters. In 1918, she married cornet player Wallace Moffitt of Worcester, Massachusetts, there they established joint residence. Soon, Mamie Moffitt became a popular Jazz figure in central Massachusetts.[3]

In the early 1920s Mamie Moffitt assembled her first Jazz ensemble in Worcester and named it Mamie Moffitt and Her Five Jazz Hounds. In addition to Mamie on piano, the band included her husband Wallace Moffitt (cornet), his brother Alfred Moffitt (saxophone), Alfred’s nephew Harold Black (violin and banjo), John Byard (trombone, father of Jaki Byard) und „Boots“ Ward (drums). Recordings do not exist. The band existed until 1928, occasionally also featuring Wendell Culley (trumpet). At the end of the 1920s Mamie Moffitt retired from the music scene for health reasons. Together with her husband Wallace she opened The Chicken Coop restaurant in the early 1930s. In 1949 they moved to Mashpee, where they ran a guest house, Moffitt’s Popponesett in the Pines, before finally retiring.

References

“Miriam Moffitt.” https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Moffitt?veaction=edit&section=2

“Miriam 'Mamie' Moffitt.” Jazz History Database. http://www.jazzhistorydatabase.com/jazz_history_musicians/moffitt_miriam_mamie/bio.html

Williamson, Chet. “When Jazz Happened Here; The Birth of the Music in Worcester.” Jazz Riffing on A Lost Worcester, January 2, 2014. http://jazzriffing.blogspot.com/2014/01/when-jazz-happened-here-birth-of-music.html Christina Lanzl 12:41, 4 May 2018 (UTC)