Joe Smith (musician)
Joe "Fox" Smith (né Joseph Emory Smith; 28 June 1902 Ripley, Ohio – 2 December 1937 Central Islip, New York) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Career
Known throughout his childhood as "Toots", Smith originally started as a drummer but was convinced by Ethel Waters 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 vocalised sound, the blues spirit and the swing which makes for convincing jazz performance".[1]
In 1921, Smith joined the Black Swan Jazz Masters in Chicago, directed at the time by Fletcher Henderson who described Smith as "the most soulful trumpet I ever had".[2] He also worked with the Jazz Hounds, the Broadway Syncopators, and finally with McKinney's Cotton Pickers throughout the 1920s. He became famous from his work accompanying Bessie Smith, recording over 30 records. Some of the other artists he worked with include Billy Paige, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, and Allie Ross.
Family
Smith was born on the June 28, 1902 in Ripley, Ohio. He 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), and Carpathia (1912–2000), and Russell (de) (1891–1966). Three of the brothers went on to play professionally, Russell as first trumpet for Fletcher Henderson.
- Marriage
Smith married Madeline Adele Belt on January 12, 1928, in Manhattan, New York.
- Death
Smith died of complications from tuberculosis on December 2, 1937 in an asylum in Central Islip, New York.
Notes and references
- ↑ Lyttelton, Humphrey (1998). The best of Jazz. Robson Books. pp. 103–4. ISBN 1-86105-187-5.
- ↑ Berendt, Joachim (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. p. 186. ISBN 0586082603.
Allmusic.com Biography of Joe "Fox" Smith
Obituary of Joe Smith, Ohio Memory Collection