Charles Edward Smith

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Charles Edward Smith (born June 8, 1904 in Thomaston (Connecticut) , † December 16, 1970 in New York City ) was an American jazz author and critic.

Life

Smith began collecting hot records of early jazz in the 1920s and from 1937 worked with William Russell , Eugene Williams, John Hammond , Hugues Panassié and Charles Delaunay in the Hot Record Society , from which the jazz label HRS Records emerged . With Steve Smith he was editor of the jazz magazine Hot Record Society Rag .

With his articles in magazines such as Symposium, The Daily Worker and Esquire , Smith was one of the early exponents of jazz criticism in the 1930s. With Frederic Ramsey (1915-1995) he edited the book Jazzmen , which appeared in 1939 and was one of America's first jazz books with Wilder Hobson's American Jazz Music , with articles on groups such as the Austin High School Gang and interviews with early jazz musicians such as Willie Cornish , Papa Jack Laine , Leon Roppolo and Nick LaRocca . Smith and Ramsey made the origins of the popular swing in the "authentic" blues and traditional jazz. In the course of researching the book, the interviewed musicians repeatedly mentioned the name Bunk Johnson ; This led to the then forgotten New Orleans Jazz trumpeter being found by Bill Russell in 1942.

The Jazz Record Book , published in 1942, was the first attempt to list a canon of important jazz records, which was taken up by many other authors in later years. a. was continued by Marshall Stearns ' The Story of Jazz , Joachim-Ernst Berendt / Günther Huesmanns Jazzbuch , Barry Kernfeld Encyclopedia of Jazz and Allen Lowes That Devilin' Tune .

Smith also wrote for The New Republic (1938), Jazz Information magazine and a number of liner notes from albums in the folk field ( Folk Music USA: Vol. 1 (1959) and Music Down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, USA (1965), on Folkways Records ), folk blues ( Big Bill Broonzy Sings Country Blues 1957), early jazz ( e.g. Pee Wee Russell , Jelly Roll Morton ) as well as modern jazz , etc. a. for productions by Al Cohn , Miles Davis ( Milestones , 1958), Chico Hamilton ( South Pacific In Hi-Fi , 1957) and JJ Johnson ( Dial JJ 5 , 1955). Smith also wrote the accompanying text for the LP edition of John Hammond's concert series From Spirituals to Swing - Carnegie Hall Concerts 1938/39 ( Vanguard ).

According to the International Society of Jazz Research, Smith was one of the early serious jazz critics with Hugues Panassié, Winthrop Sergeant , Wilder Hobson, Donald Knowlton and Aaron Copland .

Publications (selection)

  • Charles Edward Smith, Frederic Ramsey (editors and co-authors): Jazzmen . New York: Harcourt & Brace, 1939 and London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1957. Reprint: New York: Limelight Editions, 1985.
  • Charles Edward Smith, Frederic Ramsey, Charles Payne Rogers and others: The Jazz Record Book . New York: Smith & Durell, 1942
  • Charles Edward Smith: Jelly Roll Morton 's New Orleans Memories . New York: General Records Division. Consolidated Records, Inc.

further reading

  • Bruce Boyd Raeburn: New Orleans Style and the Writing of American Jazz History . Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2009, ISBN 0-472-03321-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://lubricity.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/reading-new-orleans-stlye-and-the-writing-of-american-jazz-history/
  2. ↑ Ralph de Toledano: Frontiers of Jazz 1994. Page 56
  3. ↑ Review of the book: Bruce Boyd Raeburn. New Orleans Style and the Writing of American Jazz History. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2009, ISBN 0-472-03321-2 .
  4. ↑ Excerpt from Charles Edward Smith's article on the Austin High Gang at RedHotJazz
  5. ↑ Nick LaRocca in conversation with Charles Edward Smith - Documents of the Hogan Jazz Archive
  6. ^ Lewis A. Erenberg: Swingin 'the Dream: Big Band Jazz and the Rebirth of American Culture
  7. ↑ Reminder page for Bunk Johnson ( memento of the original from January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.weijts.scarlet.nl
  8. ↑ Ben Ratliff : Ultimate Box of Jazz? Not Exactly (2011) in: The New York Times
  9. ↑ John Szwed: Early Jazz History and Criticism Bibliography (pdf; 182 kB)
  10. ^ A b The American Jazz Writer Critic of the 1930s
  11. ↑ Information from Allmusic
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Charles Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz writer and critic
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Thomaston (Connecticut)
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1970
Place of death New York City