Biography
Terry Pollard maintained a notable presence in the jazz world throughout the 1950s, though her visibility declined sharply in the decades that followed. She participated in Detroit’s thriving jazz community during the late 1940s and early 1950s, performing on piano alongside many emerging talents and cutting a 1948 session with Billy Mitchell. Between 1948 and 1949 she worked with Johnny Hill, from 1950 to 1952 with Emmitt Slay, and from 1952 to 1953 she appeared regularly with Billy Mitchell again. Her most prominent period came between 1953 and 1957, when she served as pianist and second vibraphonist in Terry Gibbs’ quartet. During those years she recorded with both Gibbs and Dick Garcia, building a solid reputation before deciding in 1957 to return to Detroit and concentrate on raising her family. She participated in further sessions with Yusef Lateef from 1958 to 1959 and with Dorothy Ashby in 1961, yet her career gradually receded from public view despite her abilities. The sole date she led herself was a 1955 album for Bethlehem. Pollard passed away in the Bronx on December 16, 2009, at the age of 78.
Albums
