Barbara Donald
Illustration — Donald in 1970 from Simmons' Burning Spirits album Barbara Kay Donald (September 2, 1942 – March 23, 2013) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
Also recorded as Barbara Kay Donald
Barbara Donald
- Born
- 1942 · Minneapolis.
- Died
- 2013 · Olympia.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- trumpeter · musician · bandleader
- Fields
- jazz
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Donald in 1970 from Simmons' Burning Spirits album Barbara Kay Donald (September 2, 1942 – March 23, 2013) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Barbara Donald. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q807401 · wikipedia · Barbara Donald
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Donald began playing trumpet aged eight in Minnesota, and her family relocated to California when she was a teenager. Beginning in the early 1960s, she began touring with both rhythm and blues and jazz ensembles throughout the US, and played with John Coltrane, Stanley Cowell, Richard Davis, Dexter Gordon, Roland Kirk, Prince Lasha, and Sonny Simmons. In 1964, Donald and Simmons married; one of their children, Zarak Simmons, became a percussionist. Starting in 1978, she began recording with her own ensembles, while living in Washington, for the label Cadence Jazz. Her sidemen at one time included her son Zarak, Gary Peacock, Carter Jefferson and Rahn Burton. After experiencing a series of strokes rendering her unable to actively play live, Donald lived in an assisted care facility in Olympia, Washington, from 1998 until her death in 2013.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Minneapolis.
Birth place
Olympia.
Death place
Discography
As leader • Olympia Live (Cadence Jazz, 1982) • The Past and Tomorrows (Cadence Jazz, 1983) With Sonny Simmons • Staying on the Watch (ESP-Disk, 1966) • Music from the Spheres (ESP-Disk, 1968) • Manhattan Egos (Arhoolie, 1969) • Rumasuma (Contemporary, 1970) • Burning Spirits (Contemporary, 1971) • Reincarnation (Arhoolie, 2015)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Barbara Donald”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q807401: Barbara Donald
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Paul de Barros. Olympia jazz-trumpet legend Barbara Donald dies. 2013-03-30.
- 2.Sally Placksin Frauen im Jazz, S. 288
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,731 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Barbara CookPerson
- Barbara DennerleinPerson
- Barbara DeverPerson
- Barbara DicksonPerson
- Barbara FairchildPerson
- Barbara FrittoliPerson
- Barbara GaskinPerson
- Barbara GeorgePerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Barbara Donald?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.