Joyce Collins

Joyce Collins, an accomplished pianist and vocalist long based in the Los Angeles region and widely respected as a jazz educator, performed with the Frankie Carle band in 1954 and with Oscar Pettiford the next year before making Los Angeles her permanent home. In the late ’50s she appeared frequently alongside Bob Cooper at the Lighthouse and cut a trio album for Riverside in 1960. Later she took her own trio through Europe and Mexico, worked with Benny Carter, recorded with the Gene Estes Big Band in 1969, and traveled with Paul Horn that same year, although the bulk of her activity remained local and included studio work. She also played and recorded with Bill Henderson while heading her own sessions for Discovery in 1981 and Audiophile in 1990.