Smith Dobson

Smith Weed Dobson IV (born February 7, 1947 in Stockton (California) , † April 20, 2001 in Santa Cruz , California ) was an American jazz pianist , singer and arranger who was mainly active in the San Francisco Bay Area .

Live and act

Smith Dobson received his musical training from his mother. After graduating from San Francisco State University and the University of the Pacific , he worked in casinos in Nevada ; In 1967 he became a member of the Airmen of Note Air Force band . He has also worked on recordings for Cannonball and Nat Adderley , Joe Pass , Arthur Prysock , Clark Terry , Joe Williams and Nancy Wilson .

After his return to San Francisco, Dobson worked a. a. with Woody Shaw , Bud Shank , Frank Rosolino , Freddie Hubbard , Pharoah Sanders , Joe Henderson , Art Pepper ( Unreleased Art Vol. VIII: Live at the Winery ), Richie Cole , Eddie Jefferson , Mark Murphy and Bobby Hutcherson . In 1981 he founded the Jazz Series at Garden City event series in San Jose , on which u. a. Stan Getz , Toots Thielemans and Herb Ellis were guests. Dobson performed with his own trio at the Monterey Jazz Festival from 1984 to 1993 ; also with his wife, the singer Gail Dobson . He released several albums under his own name, Smithzonian (1986, with Steve Gadd , Eddie Gomez ), Live at Garden City and Sasha Bossa (1988, with Bobby Hutcherson). In 1995 he worked as a pianist and arranger on Ray Brown's album Impressions of Point Lobos . He has also taught at the University of California (Santa Cruz) and San Jose State University, the San Jose Jazz Society, the Stanford Jazz Alliance and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. He died in a traffic accident in 2001 at the age of 54. In the field of jazz he was involved in 29 recording sessions between 1968 and 2012.

His son of the same name (Smith Weed Dobson V) is a drummer and vibraphonist, his daughter Sasha Dobson (* 1979) a jazz singer.