Austin is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” with decades worth of artists sharing their sounds throughout the city. It’s impossible not to acknowledge the contribution of Black musicians to the local music scene over the years.
For Black History Month, KVUE is sharing stories of Black Austinites past and present who have helped create an impact on their communities.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Pamela Hart discovered she enjoyed singing at an early age, thanks to her mother.
“My mother sang around the house and I just naturally picked it up and, she loved all the jazz greats,” Hart said. “Her favorite was Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan, but she also loved Tony Mathis and then, you know, the great horn players.”
Performing for neighbors, friends, and family, Hart moved to Austin during the 1980s and quickly made a name for herself in the capital city.
“I started singing around town and then got adopted by the incredible legendary Dr. James Polk,” Hart said.
Pamela Hart eventually became known locally as Austin’s “First Lady of Jazz.”
Dr. Clayton Shorkey -a longtime University of Texas professor and jazz lover- founded the Texas Music Museum 40 years ago in East Austin. He has an exhibit in the museum dedicated to Hart, featuring dresses and old pictures showing her performances over the years. He explains how Hart got her nickname.
“That’s why she’s so liked by everybody. She’s a kind and supportive person,” Shorkey said. “She’s known as the first lady of jazz because for so many years, Pam has led Texas as one of the most important…,” he said. “Jazz, blues, gospel, she does everything.”
Hart says that in order to perform jazz music , you have to be brave and willing to expose who you are, or the crowd won’t believe you. She also said the music needs to mean something.
“When you have a listening crowd and people are participating with you we’re having a conversation all night long because they’re into you and you’re into them and they get it when you open yourself up and and you’re vulnerable in your songs,” she said. “You know, you’re telling who you are in those songs and that’s the great thing about jazz.”
Hart still performs all over Austin, and you can catch her every month at the Elephant Room in Downtown Austin. She’ll also be performing at the Celebrating Women in Jazz concert on March 2 at the Monks Jazz Club in East Austin.