Mary Osborne

A Girl & Her Guitar Mary Osborne

2015 collection. North Dakota-born Mary Osborne was the great unsung heroine of the jazz guitar. A disciple of Charlie Christian and a true pioneer, she was the only woman to rank in what might be termed the "Golden Generation" of jazz guitarists. She was the possessor of an inventive, ardent style that confirmed her as one of the early architects of R&B and rock and roll. Although acknowledged by critics and by her peers, Mary's career was nevertheless obstructed by gender barriers. If her abilities were at least comparable to any of her contemporaries, she cannot be said to have achieved anything like the recognition she deserved. In the late forties and fifties Osborne shone in an array of big band and small combo dates including with Mary Lou Williams, Coleman Hawkins, pianist Beryl Booker, Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Tatum. She worked with Billie Holiday, appeared with Lester Young on the CBS TV show Adventures In Jazz and lead her own groups on dates for the Signature, Aladdin, Decca and Coral labels.