Margie Hyams

She began her career as a vibraphonist in the 1940s, playing with Woody Herman (from 1944 to 1945), the Hip Chicks (1945),[2] Mary Lou Williams (1946), Charlie Ventura (1946), George Shearing (from 1949 to 1950), and led her own groups, including a trio, which stayed together from 1945 to 1948, performing on 52nd Street in Manhattan.

[6] Hyams is one of Woody's exceptional alumni vibraphonists that included Terry Gibbs, Red Norvo, and Milt Jackson, all of whom, according to jazz author Doug Ramsey, were part of a Who's Who quality of an imaginary line-up that was staggering.

I just thought at the time that I was too young to handle it, but now I see that it was really rampant chauvinism.Hyams was a founder member of Shearing's world-famous quintet (1949-50) which achieved huge popularity and introduced an entirely new and much imitated ensemble sound in small group modern jazz.

Shearing in his autobiography called Hyams 'a very fine musician... a thoroughly schooled classical pianist, well-versed in fugues and so on, but she'd taken up vibes in the early 1940s... We liked one another and got on very well.

[citation needed] Her brother, Mark Hyams (1914–2007), was a jazz pianist who played with big bands, including those of Will Hudson (mid-1930s) and Spud Murphy (late 1930s).