Brian Smith (born 3 January 1939 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

) is a New Zealand

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist and flautist.

Life and career

Smith studied piano in his youth but was primarily an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

on reeds. He played locally in pop and jazz groups before moving to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1964, where he played with

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

Blues Incorporated Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art W ...

. Following this he played at

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

's Jazz Club in 1966-67 and in the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

s of

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. Early life ...

(1969) and

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

(1969–74). He worked with the group

Nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucle ...

from 1969 to 1982, and also with

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

(1969),

Neil Ardley Neil Richard Ardley (26 May 1937 – 23 February 2004) was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made his name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music. Early years Neil Ardley ...

(1969, 1976), Mike Gibbs (1970), the

Spontaneous Music Ensemble Spontaneous may refer to: * Spontaneous abortion * Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis * Spontaneous combustion * Spontaneous declaration * Spontaneous emission * Spontaneous fission * Spontaneous generation * Spontaneous human combustion * Sponta ...

(1970–71), and

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

(1971). He also worked with Pacific Eardrum in 1975-76 and Paz in 1976. In 1982, Smith returned to New Zealand, where he began playing with his own quartet. His 1984 album ''Southern Excursions'' was named Australian Jazz Record of the Year.Fairweather/Kernfeld, "Brian Smith". '' Grove Jazz'' online. He worked with Frank Gibson, Jr. later in the 1980s and was based out of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. His ''Moonlight Sax'' albums were chart successes in New Zealand.

Discography

*''Southern Excursions'' (

Ode Records (New Zealand) Ode Records is a New Zealand record label. Artists recordings released through the label include Herb McQuay, Deane Waretini. The first release on the label was a single in 1968, "Sally I Do" by Abdullahs' Regime. The label also became an importa ...

, 1984) *''Moonlight Sax'' (Ode, 1990) *''Moonlight Sax 2'' (Ode, 1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian 1939 births Living people Musicians from Wellington New Zealand jazz saxophonists CIMP artists Nucleus (band) members Centipede (band) members 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists