Hazel Scott, a trailblazing entertainer and activist, was silenced. A PBS doc brings her to light

The sanction Hazel Scott should astir apt beryllium arsenic good known arsenic Billie Holiday oregon Lena Horne. A jazz virtuoso and classical pianist, the one-time kid prodigy became 1 of the astir well-known amusement figures of the 1930s and ‘40s, playing successful immoderate of New York City’s astir iconic venues, including Café Society, the Cotton Club and Carnegie Hall.

She besides appeared successful galore films and was the archetypal Black performer to person their ain tv show, “The Hazel Scott Show,” which ran the summertime of 1950. (Ethel Waters hosted a self-titled one-night peculiar connected NBC successful 1939, but Scott was the archetypal to person a series.)

Scott’s sanction and her bequest was seemingly forgotten successful philharmonic and civilian rights circles for generations until Alicia Keys praised her astatine the 2019 Grammy Awards.

“American Masters — The Disappearance of Miss Scott,” a documentary premiering Friday connected PBS, aims to rectify that by examining her beingness and vocation and uncover wherefore this singular endowment and important humanities fig is not precise good known. The movie features excerpts of Scott’s unpublished autobiography, voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph, and interviews with state prima Mickey Guyton, actors Amanda Seales and Tracie Thoms, jazz musicians Camille Thurman and Jason Moran, and writer and erstwhile media enforcement Adam Clayton Powell III, Scott’s lone son.

Nicole London, who directed and produced the documentary, has antecedently helped signifier projects astir Miles Davis, Sammy Davis Jr. and Marvin Gaye. London recognized Scott’s value but truly lone knew a fewer details astir her life: she had been joined to Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a New York person and pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and that she had famously “played the 2 pianos” successful the 1943 movie “The Heat’s On.”

“I didn’t cognize truthful overmuch astir her. But successful diving into this film, she’s conscionable arsenic towering a fig arsenic immoderate of those,” London says. “That’s what I privation radical to travel distant with. This is simply a talent. This is simply a pistillate who had a extent and breadth of a vocation that’s conscionable arsenic memorable and worthy of canonizing arsenic a Marvin Gaye, arsenic a Sammy Davis Jr. oregon Miles Davis.”

In summation to her performing talent, Scott was besides a civilian rights advocator successful the decades anterior to the question of protests successful the ‘60s. She would not play earlier crowds that were not integrated, a stipulation successful her declaration erstwhile performing astatine euphony venues. She advocated for herself and different Black artists arsenic her onscreen vocation began to vigor up, but a workplace clash was said to person derailed her movie career.

Scott nevertheless flourished portion she continued to request equity and dignity. She was yet approached to big a web tv show, becoming the archetypal Black American to bash truthful with “The Hazel Scott Show,” which launched connected DuMont. Within weeks, the tv web expanded the amusement to a nationalist programme airing 3 times a week.

It was lone the extremity of the iceberg erstwhile it came to her consciousness of justness and however radical should beryllium treated equally. Everything seemed to beryllium going good — past the authorities came into play.

The documentary explains however Scott was caught up successful the Red Scare, with her sanction appearing successful “Red Channels: A Report connected Communist Influence successful Radio and Television,” an anti-Communist papers published successful June 1950, that accused her of being a communist. Powell recalled however his parent was intent connected testifying earlier Congress to wide her sanction and radiance a airy connected the bullying tactics that the authorities was employing.

“I retrieve erstwhile my parent decided to spell to attest astatine the House Un-American Activities Committee. The 3 of america were having meal — my mother, my begetter and me,” Powell recalls. “My begetter said, ‘Why are you doing this? You can’t triumph with these people. These radical are going to get you.’ She said, ‘No, they’re harming a batch of people, not conscionable me. I’ve got to spell oregon archer them they are the un-Americans.’ My begetter was shaking his head. He said, ‘You can’t win.’”

After testifying, Scott’s tv amusement was canceled and her employment opportunities successful the U.S. abruptly dried up. It was a autumn that seemed to hap highly fast. She ended up moving to Paris, wherever she continued to bask a palmy career. While there, she was surrounded by friends and visiting contemporaries — Powell recalls playing chess with a young Quincy Jones. Though she was disconnected the continent, she kept successful contact.

“That’s 1 happening that we regretted that we didn’t person the clip to truly acceptable into the film. Nina Simone had written her a beauteous missive to promote her to travel back. ‘Things are happening now, particularly successful the ‘60s. Things are happening now. We truly spot that there’s anticipation for change. How tin they not cognize your sanction successful this fight?’” London says. “Martin Luther King had besides encouraged her to travel backmost and articulation the combat due to the fact that determination had been a momentum shift.”

Scott returned to the U.S. to a changed and charged atmosphere, with the large set and jazz epoch passing, and a overmuch much vocal absorption to racist attitudes and laws.

“My mother, years aboriginal successful Paris, she said, ‘Remember your begetter said I couldn’t win? Well, that’s true. It ended the TV show. But what happened to Joseph McCarthy aft that? He near successful disgrace,’” Powell says.

Scott continued to beryllium progressive connected the civilian rights circuit, but “thought that things were connected the close track, that determination was a spot of advancement made,” Powell says. Scott wanted to beryllium home, fawning implicit grandchildren. She got her “dream engagement” erstwhile she was offered a stint astatine Kippy’s Pier 44 successful New York for arsenic galore weeks arsenic she wanted to perform. Shortly after, she began complaining of tummy symptom and was aboriginal diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

In telling her tale, London hopes for “people to beryllium capable to travel to her story, larn astir Hazel, larn astir what she did, larn astir her virtuosity. Learn astir her spot and her courage. Here was idiosyncratic that acceptable a exemplary for her time, but you could instrumentality immoderate lessons from her story. The mode to advocator for yourself, advocator for your ain talent, a mode to advocator for your ain freedom.”

“There’s a crushed that the rubric is ‘The Disappearance of Miss Scott.’ I truly spot this documentary arsenic the re-appearance of Ms. Scott,” Powell says.