Vi Burnside

Violet May "Vi" Burnside (April 19, 1915, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - November 19, 1964, Washington, DC) was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader.

Burnside worked for much of her career in all-girl bands. She worked in Bill Baldwin's group in the mid-1930s, joined the Dixie Rhythm Girls in 1937, then joined the Harlem Play-Girls in 1938.

During World War II she joined the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and played USO concerts with them. She continued with this ensemble until 1949, then formed her own group, which toured as Vi Burnside's All-Girl Band and Vi Burnside's All Stars. Her sidewomen included Flo Dreyer and Pauline Braddy; the group toured mostly in the mid-Atlantic region. She played with Anna Mae Winburn in Harlem in 1953, and worked with her own groups into the 1960s, in addition to acting as an official in a local DC musicians' union.

References

• Howard Rye, "Vi Burnside". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.