Hale Smith 1925-2009

[brownie]

Obit in The New York Times today:

Hale Smith

[JSngry]

 

[sgcim]

Hale was a cool guy. I first met him on Lawnguyland when he accompanied Billy Mitchell to a rehearsal of his chart on "I Remember Clifford" which was being played by a jazz big band I was in. 

Then I met him a few years later, when I used to sub for a pianist at a great club called The Steer Inn, where they only featured bebop players. One night Jerry Tillitz, the trombone player was playing there, and he told us he wanted this arrangement of a tune of his to go into a dixieland section for a few choruses, and then back into a bop feel. When we went into the dixie section, the owner of the club shot out from out of nowhere, and started yelling at Jerry for playing dixieland in his club! "You don't play no dixieland jive in my club", he told Jerry, and Jerry profusely apologized. I met Jerry years later in Mike Stern's club, 55 Grand St., where Mike was playing with Steve Sleagle. I went up to Jerry and told him about the dixie incident at The Steer, and he vehemently denied that it ever took place! He then left the place, and left his wallet and keys at the table. he took off for Europe shortly after that.

Anyway, I met Hale hangin' out during the daytime at The Steer, and I freaked out and said , "Holy schlitz! You're the famous black composer, Hale Smith!" (I was still in my teens at the time). He got all over me for that idiotic comment, and went into a diatribe about how he was a black composer because he filled up the paper with a lot of black notes, while a white composer like Hindemith used a lot of whole notes and half notes, etc... i apologized for the stupid comment, but he just kept going on to teach me a lesson.

I saw him that night in his famous derby, smoking his omni-present cigar, as he got up to the mic and started scatting some great bebop choruses. Like I said, cool guy.

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, sgcim said:

I saw him that night in his famous derby, smoking his omni-present cigar...

Seriously?

 

[sgcim]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Seriously?

 

Yeah, he was a real character. Reminded me of Fats Waller. The fact that he hung with the homeboys in his community at the local jazz club made him extra cool.

[JSngry]

hmmmm.... that sounds like a different Smith to me.

[Niko]

It's a funny picture, the cigar is really just there, omnipresent, doesn't look like anybody is smoking it... but it's indeed right where Hale Smith was at this particular moment in time

[JSngry]

And the derby?

Was he emulating the Lion, or what?