William McLeish Smith (November 25, 1910 – March 7, 1967) was an American saxophonist and one of the major

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

players of the

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

era. He also played clarinet and sang.

Early life

Smith was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, United States, and raised in Charleston and attended

Avery Institute The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is a division of the College of Charleston library system. The center is located on the site of the former Avery Normal Institute in the Harleston village district at 125 Bull Stre ...

. His first instrument was clarinet, and his education was in chemistry. He received his chemistry degree from

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

, an

HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Career

In 1929, Smith became an alto saxophonist for Jimmie Lunceford's band, becoming one of the main stars in the group. In 1940, he led his own quintet as a side project. His success with Lunceford had lost its charms by 1942, as he now wanted more pay and less travel. Smith moved to the Charlie Spivak orchestra for a year, and was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for another year. He then switched to

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

's orchestra, where he made more money, and stayed with him for seven years. After that he worked with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...

. He was also part of the Gene Krupa Trio, and can be heard on the 1952 live

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

album, ''The Drum Battle'', part of the Jazz at the Philharmonic series (the 'battle' was with Buddy Rich). In 1954, he returned to Harry James's band.

Personal life

Smith died of cancer on March 7, 1967, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, at the age of 56.Yanow, Scot
"Artist Biography"
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

''. Retrieved August 14, 2015.

Playing style

Jazz critic John S. Wilson described Smith as "one of the triumvirate of great jazz alto saxophonists before Charlie Parker arrived. The other two were Johnny Hodges, who had a fat, luscious tone, and Benny Carter, a model of clean, pure-toned playing. Stylistically, Smith fell between Carter and Hodges for he combined some of Carter's clarity and singing directness with a variant of Hodges' gut sound."Wilson, John S. (December 20, 1970) "Billy Taylor's Big Economy Jazz Band". ''The New York Times''. p. 100.

Discography

As sideman

With Louis Bellson * ''

Journey Into Love ''Journey Into Love'' is an album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in 1954 for the Norgran label.

'' (Norgran, 1954) * '' Skin Deep'' (Norgran, 1955) * ''

Drumorama! ''Drumorama!'' is an album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in 1957 for the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) * ''

Music, Romance and Especially Love ''Music, Romance and Especially Love'' is an album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in 1957 for the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) With Nat King Cole * ''After Midnight'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''The Piano Style of Nat King Cole'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''Nat King Cole and Lester Youn''g (Crown, 1964) With

* ''Harry James in Hi-fi'' (Capitol, 1955) * ''Jazz Session'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''Juke Box Jamboree'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''More Harry James in Hi-fi'' (Capitol, 1956) * ''

Wild About Harry! ''Wild About Harry!'' is a studio album by the American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded in May 1957 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-874), mono LP (T-874), and a series of three EPs (EA ...

'' (Capitol, 1957) * ''

The New James ''The New James'' is a studio album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded April 1–3, 1958 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-1037), mono LP (T-1037), and a series of three EPs (E ...

'' (Capitol, 1958) * ''

Harry's Choice! ''Harry's Choice!'' is a studio album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded in Hollywood, California in June, 1958 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-1093), mono LP (T-1093), and a ...

'' (Capitol, 1958) * ''Harry James and His New Swingin' Band'' (MGM, 1959) * ''Harry James...Today!'' (MGM, 1960) * ''The Spectacular Sound of Harry James'' (MGM, 1961) * ''Harry James Plays Neal Hefti'' (MGM, 1961) * ''Requests On-the-Road'' (MGM, 1962) * ''Double Dixie'' (MGM, 1963) * ''

Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49 ''Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49'' is a double album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album consists of live radio transcripts recorded during 1948 and 1949 and was released in 1969 by Big Band Landmar ...

'' (1969) With Gene Krupa * ''The Exciting Gene Krupa'' (Clef, 1953) * ''Drum Boogie'' (Clef, 1956) * ''

The Drum Battle ''The Drum Battle – Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich at JATP'' (later issued as ''The Original Drum Battle!'') is a 1960 live album by drummers Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, recorded at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall in 1952. Recept ...

'' (Verve, 1960) With others *

, ''Seattle Concert'' (RCA Victor, 1952) *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

, ''Groovin' High'' (Modern, 1956) *

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, ''

Jazz Recital ''Jazz Recital'' (also released as ''Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra'') is an album by the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1954 and 1955 and released on the Norgran label. It consists of quintet, sextet and jazz orchestra tracks.

'' (Norgran, 1955) *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, ''With the Just Jazz All-Stars'' (GNP, 1955) *

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, ''Lady Sings the Blues'' (Cleft, 1956) *

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

, ''Modern Jazz Performances from Bizet's Opera Carmen'' (Contemporary, 1959) * Jimmie Lunceford, ''Lunceford Special'' (Columbia, 1967) * Jimmie Lunceford, ''Stomp It Off'' (GRP, 1992) *

, ''Today!'' (Capitol, 1966) *

Rose Murphy Rose Murphy (April 28, 1913 – November 16, 1989) was an American jazz pianist and singer, famous for the song "Busy Line" and her unique vocal style.Brethour, Ross, sleevenotes to ''Busy Line'', a Rose Murphy best of compilation, Body and Soul, ...

, ''Not Cha-Cha but Chi-Chi'' (Verve, 1957) * Red Norvo, ''Red Plays the Blues'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * Andre Previn, ''Previn at Sunset'' (Polydor, 1972) *

Googie René Rafael Leon René (March 30, 1927 – November 25, 2007), known as Googie René, was an American musician, bandleader, and songwriter. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of songwriter and record producer Leon René, and ...

, ''Romesville'' (Class, 1959) *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

, ''Portrait of a Starr'' (Sunset, 1966) * Charlie Barnet ''Charlie Barnet Big Band -1967'' (Vault, 1966)

References

External links

Willie Smith recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Willie 1910 births 1967 deaths Jazz alto saxophonists Fisk University alumni Musicians from Charleston, South Carolina Duke Ellington Orchestra members Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American musicians Musicians from Cleveland 20th-century saxophonists