Dardanale
b. Dardanelle Breckenridge, 27 December 1917, Avalon, Mississippi, USA. Playing piano and singing from childhood, Dardanelle developed her skills throughout high school and university. In the late '30s and early '40s she worked with several bands along the east coast and in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. Eventually she decided to form her own group with Paul Edenfield and Tal Farlow. The trio became successful and in 1945 started a year-long residency at the Copacabana club in New York. During the rest of the decade the trio played in several top New York hotels, made records and toured the USA. In addition to playing piano and singing, Dardanelle also played vibraphone. In 1949 Dardanelle married Walter Hadley and gave up her New York-based career. During the next few years she devoted her time to raising a family, but in 1956, now resident in Chicago, she became staff organist at a local radio and television station and appeared for four years on a childrens’ show. In the early '60s she freelanced in Chicago, was active in church work, including conducting choirs, and began broadcasting a regular family show from home. In 1966 her husband's business effected another move, this time to New Jersey, where she formed a new trio with her son, Skip Hadley, on drums. The trio played largely for private functions and in local clubs for several years. In the mid-70s Dardanelle again began performing with leading jazz artists including Bucky Pizzarelli and George Duvivier. In 1978 she returned to the recording studios for an album with Duvivier, Pizzarelli and Grady Tate. In the late '70s Dardanelle survived a divorce and the tragic death of her son, Skip, and by the early '80s was a popular figure at jazz clubs, festivals and concerts, appearing at the Cookery, Carnegie Hall and many other prestigious venues. She continued to record, most commonly in good jazz company. She also appeared on television as performer and host of the MUSIC IN OUR LIVES show and on cruise ships, including the QE II. Although victim of a brutal assault, Dardanelle made many club and record dates during the next few years, including a long residency in Tokyo. Since 1984 Dardanelle has made her home in Oxford, Mississippi, but still plays concerts, festivals, radio and television and makes records. In many performances she is joined by her second son, Brian Hadley, on bass. For a period in the late '80s she was artist-in-residence at the University of Mississippi. At the end of the decade she began writing her autobiography, reading extracts of work in progress on radio in Mississippi and Tennessee. A distinctive song stylist with a penchant for reflective ballads which speak of love for people and places, especially the deep south, Dardanelle has made an important contribution to popular music, not only through her singing and playing but also through the enthusiastic manner in which she has transmitted her love of music to audiences and students.