Frances Klein

Frances Klein, also known as Frances Siskin (October 19, 1915 – December 22, 2012), was a female jazz musician who began her career in the early 1930s. She played trumpet in a number of jazz bands (most notably the all-female bands led by Irene Vermillion and Ina Ray Hutton).[1]

Frances Klein in the late 1920s or early 1930s

Biography

Klein was a native of Cleveland, Ohio where she played trumpet in the Glenville High School Band. Around 1935 she was invited to play in Kermit Dart's All-Girl Band, which was led by Irene Vermillion. Klein traveled the country for two years with Vermillion's dance act/revue, "Rhapsody in Red." Upon returning to Cleveland, she was invited to tour with Ina Ray Hutton's Melodears; after which, she returned again to Cleveland where she performed in a variety of local venues as a part of the Cleveland Women's Orchestra. Around that time, she was also the sole female member of Freddie Shafer's band.[1] Klein led a number of bands. On February 22, 1945, she married David Siskin and legally changed her name to Frances Siskin. In the late seventies, the Siskins moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where Klein continued playing trumpet in groups including the Jacksonville Bulls Pep Band, the Jacksonville Gator Pep Band, and a senior citizen's band known as High Society.[1] She died in 2012 at the age of 97.[2]

List of bands
  • Kermit Dart's All-Girl Band with Irene Vermillion
  • Melodears
  • Cleveland Women's Orchestra
  • Frances Klein's All-Girl Orchestra
  • Frances Klein and Her Formal Swingsters
  • Frances Klein and Her Moderniers
  • Frances Klein and Her Rhythm Boys
  • United States Marine Band
  • Frances Klein's All-Girl TV Band
  • Jacksonville Bulls Pep Band
  • Jacksonville Gator Pep Band

References
  1. Frances Klein Papers, 1929-2002, Duke University Jazz Archive.
  2. "Frances Siskin Obituary". Florida Times-Union. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
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