Joe "Fox" Smith ''(né'' Joseph Emory Smith; June 28, 1902 – December 2, 1937) was an American jazz trumpeter.

Career

Known throughout his childhood as "Toots", Smith originally started as a drummer but was convinced by

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her not ...

that he was far better as a trumpet player. It has been said that when he reached New York in 1920 he already had a fully formed style, which achieved "the vocalized sound, the blues spirit and the swing which makes for convincing jazz performance". In 1921, Smith joined the Black Swan Jazz Masters in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, directed at the time by

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

who described Smith as "the most soulful trumpet I ever had". He also worked with the Jazz Hounds, the Broadway Syncopators, and finally with

McKinney's Cotton Pickers McKinney's Cotton Pickers were an American jazz band, founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1926, and led by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten players. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney on drums, with the latter bec ...

throughout the 1920s. He became famous from his work accompanying

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

, recording over 30 records. She stated that Smith was her preferred cornetist when recording, due to his reserved additions to her voice. Some of the other artists he worked with include Billy Paige,

Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote ''Shuffle Along'', one of the first Bro ...

, and Allie Ross. Thomas Brothers described Smith as

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's New York City rival, citing Armstrong's description of Smith as "a big prima donna." When recalling his time with the Henderson orchestra, Armstrong insisted that he was forced to cover the high notes Smith could not hit.

Personal life

Smith came from a family of musicians. His father, Luke Smith, Sr., was a bandleader, and six of his brothers also played the trumpet or trombone: Luke, Jr. (1895–1936), Stanley (born 1890), Doonie, Charles (born 1908), Carpathia (1912–2000), and

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

(1890–1966). Three of the brothers played professionally, Russell as first trumpet for Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. Smith married Madeline Adele Belt on January 12, 1928, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Smith died of complications from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on December 2, 1937, in an asylum in

Central Islip, New York Central Islip is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Islip, New York, Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 34,450 at the 2010 c ...

References

External links

AllMusic Biography of Joe "Fox" SmithObituary of Joe Smith, Ohio Memory Collection
1902 births 1937 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters People from Ripley, Ohio 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) {{Ohio-bio-stub