Ginger Smock

Emma Smock (4 June 1920^[1]– 13 June 1995^[2]), better known as Ginger Smock,^[3][4] was a violinist, orchestra leader, and local Los Angeles television personality.^[5] She is perhaps best known from her recordings with the Vivien Garry Quintet, though other recordings have surfaced recently.^[6] In addition to her work in jazz and rhythm & blues, she performed with the All City Symphony Orchestra of Los Angeles.^[7]

Ginger Smock
Ginger Smock's violin, at the Smithsonian
Background information
Birth name	Emma Smock
Born	(1920-06-04)4 June 1920
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Died	13 June 1995(1995-06-13) (aged 75)
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Violinist
Instrument	Violin

Life and career

Born in Chicago, Smock, who was of African American heritage, was orphaned at the age of 6 and grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from Jefferson High School.^[2][8] She studied violin privately with Bessie Dones, and at the age of 10 appeared as a soloist at the Hollywood Bowl.^[2] She was featured on Clarence Muse's radio program at the age of thirteen performing Edward MacDowell's To a Wild Rose.^[2] She earned degrees in music from Los Angeles City College, and the Zoellner Conservatory of Music.^[2] At the latter institution she was a pupil of Edith Smith.^[2]

During 1944 she was leading a trio, with Nina Russell and Mata Roy.^[9] In 1951, she led an all-female sextette, featuring Clora Bryant,^[10] on the Chicks and the Fiddle show hosted by Phil Moore^[3] that broadcast for six weeks on CBS.^[11] In 1952, she was the featured soloist on KTLA's variety show, Dixie Showboat.^[3]

On March 31, 1953, Smock recorded as part of a group, with Gerald Wiggins, Freddie Simon, Red Callender, and Rudy Pitts, accompanying the vocalist Cecil "Count" Carter.^[12]

Beginning in the mid-1970s, she spent ten years as concertmaster of show orchestras in Las Vegas.^[2]

A violin owned by Smock is in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.^[13]

Recordings

• Ginger Smock: Studio and Demo Recordings 1946-1958 (AB Fable, 2005)