Stuff Smith

Happy Birthday,  Hezekiah Leroy Gordon "Stuff Smith"...August 14, 1909-September 25, 1967...One of the preeminent jazz violinists of the swing era, Smith was also a hard drinking character, often wearing a tattered top hat and a stuffed parrot during his performances. Smith understood the value of showmanship as well as musicianship when it came to entertaining his audiences. His risk-taking playing style also helped to elevate the violin as a formidable jazz instrument.

Smith first learned violin as a child in Ohio from his violinist/boxer father. At age 15 he won a scholarship to study classical violin at Johnson. C. Smith University but according to Smith, once he heard Louis Armstrong play he set his sights on jazz. By the mid-20's he left school to tour with the Aunt Jemima Revue. In 1926 he joined Alphonse Trent's band as a singer and violinist. He took a side job with Jelly Roll Morton's band but left because he feel the band drowned out his sound. In 1930 he formed his own band with hopes of breaking into the New York City scene.

His big break came when his band was booked into the Onyx Club on the strength of their novelty song "I's a-Muggin". Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys had a regular gig at the club until 1938. Along the way they made several recordings including "Muggin", "Here Comes the Man With the Jive" and "You'se a Viper" which was also a hit for Fats Waller in 1943. Trying to find a way to amplify the violin was always a struggle. While at the Onyx Club, the National Dobro Company custom made the "Vio-Lectric" for Smith making him one of the first to use electric amplification  techniques on the instrument.

In 1939, Smith left for the West Coast with the intent of making it into films but the opportunity never materialized and he found himself back at the Onyx Club in 1944, moving on to Chicago by 1945. Smith was a heavy drinker and found himself at odds with club owners, musicians, bookers and managers which had a major impact on his career. In 1950 he appeared regularly on broadcasts by Chicago DJ Al Benson but he was fired for getting into a fist fight with his host on the air. In 1951 he toured with Dizzy Gillespie and in 1953 made a recording with Herman Poole Blount who would later be known as Sun Ra. In 1956 he joined Nat King Cole on his hit album "After Midnight".

Although Smith was not a fan of Be-bop his playing style complemented many of the musicians of that era. His wide vibrato, the ability to create sharp tones as well as bluesy wails and his harmonious adventurousness garnered him a good deal of admiration from many of the Be-bop musicians. His tours with Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and collaborations with violinists Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grappellie were very successful. In 1965 Smith relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark to further tour Europe but with half of his liver and stomach already removed as a consequence of his heavy drinking he would only last another two years before his death in Munich at the age of 58.