Russell Smith (jazz pianist)
Russell Smith (* 1890 in Kentucky , † 1969 in Indianapolis ) was an American jazz pianist , singer, composer and band leader.
Russell Smith grew up in Indianapolis and composed from 1908 a number of ragtime numbers, such as "Princess Rag", "Microbe Rag" and "That Demon Rag". In that year he founded one of the first important Afro-American dance orchestras in the city, which got an engagement at the Severin Hotel , where it then performed for three years. In his orchestra, in which he was both pianist and singer, a.o. a. Noble Sissle and Reginald DuValle . He then worked for WC Handy in New York and performed at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem . He then played in the touring group Shuffle Along and appeared in The Chocolate Dandies , the successful 1924 revue by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. Smith returned to Indianapolis forever in 1935, joining one in the late 1940s and early 1950s Jazz trio or quartet in Sandy’s and Meridian ; his main job was as a caretaker in a bookstore. In 1956 he performed in the newly opened Indianapolis Jazz Club .
The pianist should not be confused with the trumpeter and singer of the same name Russell Smith (1890-1966), who also played with Noble Sissle and Fletcher Henderson .
Web links
- Jazz & Ragtime in Indiana ( Memento from January 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- Lost legends of Indiana Jazz
- Biography of Eugene Chadbourne on Allmusic
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rudi Blesh They All Played Ragtime - The True Story of an American Music Nelson Press, p. 221
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Russell |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist, singer, composer and band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1969 |
| Place of death | Indianapolis |