Derek Smith (musician)

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Derek Geoffrey Smith (born August 17, 1931 in London , † August 19, 2016 ) was a British jazz pianist and arranger .

Live and act

Smith played the piano from the age of seven, performed locally at the age of 14, and soon began to lead his own band. He initially worked for an insurance agency, but also performed semi-professionally in numerous jazz clubs and won a competition organized by Melody Maker . In 1954 he switched to professional life and became a member of John Dankworth's band . In mid-1955 he became part of the New Jazz Quartet (together with Allan Ganley , Harry Klein and Sammy Stokes) . In the following year he led his own trio and played with Kenny Baker's dozen . Since April 1957 he lived in the USA, where he first toured with Art Mooney and then built a career in New York. There were recordings and performances. In the 1960s and 1970s he toured several times with Benny Goodman ; between 1967 and 1974 he played under Doc Severinsen on the Tonight Show . In the early 1970s he accompanied Marlena Shaw . Then he led his own trio, but also performed at festivals with Dizzy Gillespie , Arnett Cobb and Eddie Miller and worked in a trio with Bobby Rosengarden and Milt Hinton . He also toured with Benny Carter in Japan in 1983 and was part of Nick Brignola's sextet . As a studio musician, he accompanied Frank Sinatra and Pavarotti . He later also recorded with Bill Watrous .

Discographic notes

  • Love for Sale (Progressive, 1978)
  • My Favorite Things (Progressive, 1978)
  • The Man I Love (Statiras, 1978)
  • Derek Smith Trio Plays Jerome Kern (Progressive, 1980)
  • I'm Old Fashioned (Progressive, 1980)
  • Dark Eyes (Eastwind Records, 1983)
  • Derek Smith Plays the Passionate Piano (Special Music, 1987)
  • New Orleans Mardi Gras Explosion (Special Music, 1994)
  • The Trio - 1994 ( Chiaroscuro Records , 1994)
  • New Orleans Mardi Gras Explosion (Special Music, 1994)
  • Dixieland Dance Party (Essex Records, 1995)
  • High Energy ( Arbors Records , 2002)
  • Live in London (Harkit Records, 2004)
  • I'm All Smiles (2013), with Jerry Bruno , Rick Visone

Lexical entries

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in The New York Times
  2. ^ Obituary in The Guardian
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Derek
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Derek Geoffrey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British jazz pianist and arranger
DATE OF BIRTH August 17, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH 19th August 2016