Dolly Jones in 1938
Dolly Jones, also known on screen and stage as both Doli Armenra and Dolly Hutchinson, was the first women to perform trumpet on a jazz recording. That session took place in 1926 when Jones appeared as a member of Albert Wynn’s Gut Bucket Five. Jones inherited the musical gifts of both her mother and father, and used that talent to build a career as a jazz trumpeter and performer that spanned over fifty years.
Jones was born in Chicago, Il on the 27th of November, 1902. And then naturally, The Jones Family band, featuring Dolly along with her mother and father, was formed in 1919. The band worked with Josephine Baker, who famously refused to perform for segregated audiences. Soon after, Dolly would form her own group, billed as Three Classy Misses, then also play trombone in the band of Ma Rainey.
Dolly Jones (Doli Armena) in Swing!
Jones played trumpeter Miss Watkins, “a little girl from Birmingham”, in Oscar Michaux’s 1938 musical film Swing!. Credited as “Doli Armena”, she performs trumpet several times, playing the songs I May Be Wrong (But I Think You’re Wonderful) and China Boy. She also appeared as an extra in Michaux’s 1938 movie God’s Step Children. Jones continued to play trumpet into the 1970s. For more on the life of Dolly Jones, click here.
Dolly Jones, I May Be Wrong (1938)