Buster Smith
Encyclopedia
Henry "Buster" Smith also known as Professor Smith, was an American jazz
alto saxophonist
and mentor
to Charlie Parker
. Smith was instrumental in instituting the Texas Sax Sound with Count Basie
and Lester Young
in the 1930s. Smith played saxophone for a range of musicians including Duke Ellington
, Ella Fitzgerald
and Earl Hines
, though in his career only recorded one solo album in 1959. Despite intending to release a follow-up in the 1960s, Smith was injured in an accident leading to a follow-up never eventuating.
, a small township near Telico
in the outskirts of Dallas
, where he attended school as a child. Smith earned the name "Buster" from his parents as a baby, as he was born as an overweight child. Buster was the third of five boys and had no sisters, though both of his older brothers died in childhood of measles.
Smith's early musical influences were his mother, and his father, who played guitar. At four years old, Buster was playing the organ with his brother, pianist Boston Smith; Buster played the keys and Boston stepped on the pedals. Soon thereafter, his grandfather gave away the family organ because he believed it would only direct Buster to a life of sin.
s, though he had to play very loudly to draw in more customers. This experience led to Smith defining his own musical style, known for being loud. The time with the medicine shows also led to Oran "Hot Lips" Page
inviting Smith to join his group, the Oklahoma City Blue Devils
, in 1925. Over the next few years, Smith wrote much of the group's music, learning from banjo player Johnny Clark, writing lyrics with co-workers from the bank that he worked in.
, Oran Page, Lester Young
, Count Basie
, Jimmy Rushing
, and Emir "Bucket" Coleman. They toured the Kansas City area and the Midwest, playing jazz for a year, bringing all of its members into prominence. Basie and Page both left the group; however Smith decided to stay on, though this was very short lived and soon after he left also. After leaving the group, he and Basie formed the Buster Smith-Count Basie Band of Rhythm, where the two innovated a louder style of Jazz. Buster's contribution to the unique sound was by using a tenor saxophone reed
in his alto saxophone to achieve a louder, "fatter" sound. Lester Young also joined the band and, to complement Smith's louder sound, he also opted for a heavier reed, using a baritone saxophone reed on his tenor saxophone. This sound was later labelled the Texas Sax Sound. Smith gained a great amount of influence in the Texan music community and industry. Smith mentored legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker
during the 1930s, developing a "father-son relationship" through mentoring Parker.
Smith also aided old Dallas friend, Charlie Christian
, in his saxophone playing before Christian joined Benny Goodman
's band. Despite being an African American
and the civil rights
issues of the time, Smith received much respect for his musical contributions. In 1941, Smith decided to return to Dallas and to cease touring, though he remained active in the local music scene. In the following years, he wrote for jazz and blues bands, played often, and taught many young Texan musicians, including Aaron "T-Bone" Walker
and Red Garland
among others. He also performed session work with artists such as Pete Johnson
's Boogie-Woogie Boys, Eddie Durham
, Leo "Snub" Mosley, Bon and His Buddies, and the Don Redman Orchestra.
. From these sessions, released by Atlantic with the title The Legendary Buster Smith
, Smith's notable songs included "Kansas City Riffs," "Buster's Tune," "E Flat Boogie," and Kurt Weill
's "September Song
." For the sessions, Buster enlisted his brother Boston Smith to play piano, along with musicians spanning his career to date.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
alto saxophonist
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
to Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
. Smith was instrumental in instituting the Texas Sax Sound with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
in the 1930s. Smith played saxophone for a range of musicians including Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
, though in his career only recorded one solo album in 1959. Despite intending to release a follow-up in the 1960s, Smith was injured in an accident leading to a follow-up never eventuating.
Early life
Smith was born and raised in Alsdorf, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, a small township near Telico
Telico, Texas
Telico is an unincorporated community in east central Ellis County, Texas, United States.The area that became Telico was settled before 1856...
in the outskirts of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, where he attended school as a child. Smith earned the name "Buster" from his parents as a baby, as he was born as an overweight child. Buster was the third of five boys and had no sisters, though both of his older brothers died in childhood of measles.
Smith's early musical influences were his mother, and his father, who played guitar. At four years old, Buster was playing the organ with his brother, pianist Boston Smith; Buster played the keys and Boston stepped on the pedals. Soon thereafter, his grandfather gave away the family organ because he believed it would only direct Buster to a life of sin.
Early career
In 1919, Smith picked cotton for a week to earn himself the money to buy a $3.50 clarinet. Smith learned to play several instruments by the time he was eighteen years old. In 1922, Smith and his family moved to Dallas. He joined the Voodie White Trio, playing Alto saxophone and clarinet. In 1923, he began his professional music career playing alto saxophone with the medicine showMedicine show
Medicine shows were traveling horse and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" medications and other products between various entertainment acts. Their precise origins unknown, medicine shows were common in the 19th century United States...
s, though he had to play very loudly to draw in more customers. This experience led to Smith defining his own musical style, known for being loud. The time with the medicine shows also led to Oran "Hot Lips" Page
Oran Page
Oran Thaddeus Page was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader born in Dallas, Texas, United States. He was better known as Hot Lips Page by the public, and Lips Page by his fellow musicians...
inviting Smith to join his group, the Oklahoma City Blue Devils
Oklahoma City Blue Devils
The Oklahoma City Blue Devils was the premier Southwest territory jazz band in the 1920s. Originally called Billy King's Road Show, it disbanded in Oklahoma City in 1925 where Walter Page renamed it...
, in 1925. Over the next few years, Smith wrote much of the group's music, learning from banjo player Johnny Clark, writing lyrics with co-workers from the bank that he worked in.
Peak success
When Smith joined the Blue Devils, the line-up consisted of Walter PageWalter Page
Walter Sylvester Page , nicknamed "Hoss," was an African American jazz bassist and leader of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils jazz orchestra from 1925–1931...
, Oran Page, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Jimmy Rushing
Jimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
, and Emir "Bucket" Coleman. They toured the Kansas City area and the Midwest, playing jazz for a year, bringing all of its members into prominence. Basie and Page both left the group; however Smith decided to stay on, though this was very short lived and soon after he left also. After leaving the group, he and Basie formed the Buster Smith-Count Basie Band of Rhythm, where the two innovated a louder style of Jazz. Buster's contribution to the unique sound was by using a tenor saxophone reed
Reed (instrument)
A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of most Woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics.-Single reeds:Single reeds are used on the mouthpieces of clarinets...
in his alto saxophone to achieve a louder, "fatter" sound. Lester Young also joined the band and, to complement Smith's louder sound, he also opted for a heavier reed, using a baritone saxophone reed on his tenor saxophone. This sound was later labelled the Texas Sax Sound. Smith gained a great amount of influence in the Texan music community and industry. Smith mentored legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
during the 1930s, developing a "father-son relationship" through mentoring Parker.
Smith also aided old Dallas friend, Charlie Christian
Charlie Christian
Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian was an American swing and jazz guitarist.Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra...
, in his saxophone playing before Christian joined Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
's band. Despite being an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
issues of the time, Smith received much respect for his musical contributions. In 1941, Smith decided to return to Dallas and to cease touring, though he remained active in the local music scene. In the following years, he wrote for jazz and blues bands, played often, and taught many young Texan musicians, including Aaron "T-Bone" Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
and Red Garland
Red Garland
William "Red" Garland was an American hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom.-Beginnings:...
among others. He also performed session work with artists such as Pete Johnson
Pete Johnson
Pete Johnson was an American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist.Journalist Tony Russell stated in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, that "Johnson shared with the other members of the 'Boogie Woogie Trio' the technical virtuosity and melodic fertility that can make this the most...
's Boogie-Woogie Boys, Eddie Durham
Eddie Durham
Eddie Durham was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer and musical arranger of the swing music medium born in San Marcos, Texas, probably best known for his work with musicians like Cab Calloway, Willie Bryant, Andy Kirk, Glenn Miller, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie, among others...
, Leo "Snub" Mosley, Bon and His Buddies, and the Don Redman Orchestra.
Solo career
In 1959, Buster led his first solo recording session in Fort Worth, as prompted by Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. From these sessions, released by Atlantic with the title The Legendary Buster Smith
The Legendary Buster Smith
The Legendary Buster Smith is the debut and only solo album released by saxophonist Buster Smith, recorded and released in 1959. The album features five original compositions by Smith, alongside versions of "September Song" by Kurt Weill and "Organ Grinder's Swing" by Will Hudson.-Background:In...
, Smith's notable songs included "Kansas City Riffs," "Buster's Tune," "E Flat Boogie," and Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's "September Song
September Song
"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...
." For the sessions, Buster enlisted his brother Boston Smith to play piano, along with musicians spanning his career to date.
Later life
In the 1960s, Smith was involved in auto accident, in which he was injured and no longer able to play the saxophone. In order to continue playing music, he started to play the bass guitar throughout Dallas and continued to participate in the Dallas musical community. Buster led a dance music band until 1980. Smith died in Dallas on August 10, 1991 of a heart attack.Discography
- The Legendary Buster SmithThe Legendary Buster SmithThe Legendary Buster Smith is the debut and only solo album released by saxophonist Buster Smith, recorded and released in 1959. The album features five original compositions by Smith, alongside versions of "September Song" by Kurt Weill and "Organ Grinder's Swing" by Will Hudson.-Background:In...
, Atlantic RecordsAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, 1959 (Reissued by Koch RecordsKoch RecordsE1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
, 1999)
Further reading
- Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street by John ChiltonJohn ChiltonJohn James Chilton is a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts....
(First published 1970). - Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians by Eileen SouthernEileen SouthernEileen Jackson Southern was an African American musicologist, researcher, author and teacher.-Early life:She attended public schools in her hometown, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota...
(First edition 1982). - Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop - A History by Frank Driggs & Chuck Haddix (First published Oxford 2005; ISBN 0195307127, Page 165).