Paul Smith: 1922-2013 - A Tribute

Published on Jul 2, 2013
Pianist Paul Smith's Quintet performing "What Is This Thing Called Love" with Abe Most, clarinet, Jules Kinsler, flute, alto saxophone, Tony Rizzi, guitar, Sam Cheifetz, bass and Irv Cotler, drums.

Paul Smith (1922-2013)

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In the late 1940s and 1950s, few pianists moved as effortlessly and deftly between jazz and pop as pianist Paul Smith—who died June 29 at age 91. Instrumental pop, as a genre, came into its own after 1948, with the advent of the 10-inch LP. Pop back then still had plenty of swing but was really jazz-light—easy-going music that had a bit of kick but didn't venture too far off a familiar song's melody. 

One could argue that many of the big bands during the swing era were playing an early form of pop. But pop as an official record-company department was only possible when record buyers could languish on a sofa and read while record sides played for 15 minutes or longer. Before 1948, listeners had to flip over 78-rpm discs every three minutes or so, and most music was geared for dancing, not lounging and listening.

Smith was perfectly suited for the jazz-pop LP era. Born in San Diego, Smith was greatly influenced by Nat King Cole's precise, swinging playing style. Smith began taking piano lessons early, served in the Army during World War II, and after the war remained on the West Coast, where opportunities for accomplished musicians were plentiful—in recording studios, on movie soundstages and on television. [Photo above of Paul Smith in the early '50s]

Throughout the '50s, Smith appeared on many key jazz-pop recordings—Benny Goodman with Strings (1951), June Christy's Midnight Sun (1953), Paul Weston's Mood for 12 (1955), Dave Pell's I Had the Craziest Dream (1955), Anita O'Day with Buddy Bregman's Orchestra (1955), Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956) and many of her other songbook albums, Louis Armstrong with Russell Garcia's Orchestra (1957), Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald (1957), Ella in Berlin (1960) and many albums by Billy May, Buddy Bregman, Ray Anthony and Ella Fitzgerald.

Smith also recorded numerous albums leading a trio, quartet and other ensembles that weren't purely jazz but were hardly pop. There was always a skip in his step at the keyboard and a lush, dramatic sensibility on ballads. In a city awash in extraordinarily gifted pianists in the '50s, Smith excelled in Los Angeles studios, on TV and in clubs, winding up as the first choice of singers and bands alike.

Smith's magic was all about taste and how he was able to balance a song on the tips of his fingers while thrilling listeners. He wasn't supper club or lounge, just a player who loved having his way with a melody back when all great jazz and pop musicians were sublime entertainers.

JazzWax tracks: The best way to get started with Paul Smith is his Fine, Sweet and Tasty from 1953. You'll find it here. And if you can get your hands on Cascades (1955), it's easily one of Smith's finest recordings, featuring  Abe Most (fl), Willie Schwartz (clar), Ronnie Lang (as), Paul Smith (p), Tony Rizzi (g), Sam Chiefetz (b) and Irv Cottler (d). It looks like it was released in Japan here.

JazzWax note: One of my favorite Paul Smith clips is no longer up at YouTube. Back in September 1959, Smith appeared on The Bing Crosby Show. At one point during the show, Smith, George Shearing, and Joe Bushkin sat at three grand pianos accompanying Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby—each standing at a different piano—singing Irving Berlin’s I Love A Piano. Smith is the first piano backing Sinatra. Man, I wish someone would put that one back up!

JazzWax clips: Here's Shorty Rogers' C'est La Vie, from 1953...

C'est La Vie

Here's Invitation, from 1957...

Invitation

Here's I Got Rhythm, from 1957 (dig the speed and jazz dexterity)...

I Got Rhythm

And here's My Shining Hour from Cascades (told yah)... 

My Shining Hour

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/07/paul-smith-1922-2013.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.nqhSoKeS.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Paul Smith dies at 91; jazz pianist, arranger, composer

By Don Heckman, July 1, 2013, 11:04 p.m.

Paul Smith, a jazz pianist, arranger-composer and music director for stars such as Sammy Davis Jr., Anita O'Day, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, the Andrews Sisters, Sarah Vaughan and Rosemary Clooney, has died. He was 91.

Smith died of heart failure Saturday at the Torrance Memorial Medical Center, publicist Alan Eichler said.

At 6 feet 5, with hands that easily spanned the piano keyboard well beyond octaves, Smith was an impressive sight on stage. Playing with a versatility comparable to that of Oscar Peterson and a harmonic richness similar to the work of Bill Evans, he was both a brilliant soloist and an accompanist who was highly praised by the many singers with whom he performed.

His initial solo album, "Liquid Sounds," is the first of numerous convincing examples of his impressive musical skills. Fluent with jazz, classical music and beyond, he moved from genre to genre with ease.

"Paul was a perfectionist and worked every day to improve his art," said jazz singer Lyn Stanley, for whom Smith was a mentor, an accompanist and a close friend. "When you worked with him, he expected the same of you."

For more than 25 years Smith was the pianist and music director for the "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour." "What Paul Smith does with two hands would ordinarily take three. He does the impossible," Allen — himself a pianist and jazz fan — once said.

Smith recorded more than five dozen albums — many of which are still available — as a leader of his own groups. As a much-favored accompanist, he recorded with singers and musicians of extraordinarily diverse styles, including Tony Martin, Bing Crosby, Red Skelton, Pat Boone, Nat "King" Cole, Pearl Bailey and Dizzy Gillespie, among many others. He worked for more than 11 years as a pianist and conductor with Ella Fitzgerald, and four with Sammy Davis Jr.

"You know," Smith told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1991, "an accompanist has to be selfless — he has to put his ego on the shelf and make the vocalist sound better than she would without him. But with Ella that was no problem." Their musical relationship was a fulfilling creative experience for both, with Smith playing on many of Fitzgerald's critically praised, classic "songbook" albums.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-paul-smith-20130702,0,1791379.story?track=rss