Pola Roberts

Pola Roberts
Birth name	Paula Roberts
Born	1938 (age 85–86) Pittsburgh (Hill), Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Drums, percussion
Labels	Impulse

Paula 'Pola' Roberts (1938) is an American jazz drummer. Roberts is an autodidact who started on the bongo and finally started playing drums on her 17th.

Gloria Coleman, a female band leader, organist and spouse of George Coleman, discovered Roberts and hired her to play in her band that consisted entirely of women. In 1963, organist Gloria Coleman regularly played with her in a quartet in a bar (Branker's) in upper Harlem. The presence of two female musicians in a small group also gave the title to the album Soul Sisters (Impulse). Later she moved to New York and played with Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine, Max Roach, George Benson and Jack McDuff.

Discography

As sidewoman

• Soul Sisters (Impulse!, 1963) with Gloria Coleman.

References

• Pittsburgh Jazz (2007, John M. Brewer Jr., ISBN 9780738549804)
• The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records (2007, Ashley Kahn, ISBN 9780393330717)

External links

• Picture of Roberts on the cover of Soul Sisters. Soul Sisters
• Picture of Roberts with 'Pixie Bongo 4 Jewel's', Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1950. [1]
• Picture of Roberts with the Horace Turner Trio, 1960. [2]
• Picture of Roberts with Bill Brown, Pola Roberts, Dick Shelton. [3] (scroll downwards)