As a young teenager her style was compared to Mary Lou Williams.
She also substituted for Mary Lou Williams in Andy Kirk's band in New York.
[1] Later, she worked with Clarence Williams, Bubber Miley, Thomas Morris, Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
She can also be heard on four tracks that Billie Holiday's orchestra recorded in September 1938 with Lester Young.
She was a powerful musician whose style recalls both Basie, Earl Hines, and Mary Lou Williams.