Lena Wilson - Chirpin' the Blues

Artist Biography by Ron DePasquale

After touring the vaudeville circuit for four years, Lena Wilson began recording in 1922. For the next two years and in 1930, Wilson recorded with the likes of Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools, Conaway's Rag Pickers, Johnny Dunn's Jazz Hounds, Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, and the Nubian Five. She also recorded as a solo artist with Lena Wilson's Jazz Hounds, which featured trumpet player Gus Aiken, Garvin Bushell on clarinet, Herb Fleming on trombone, and John Mitchell on banjo, along with piano players Porter Grainger and Cliff Jackson. She also performed with her brother Danny Wilson, who married blues singer Edith Wilson, and the act became a trio. Lena Wilson also became a mainstay in New York's black theater scene of the 1920s, appearing in many musical revues. Wilson married violinist Shrimp Jones and continued to perform in New York's clubs until the mid-'30s. She died in 1939.