Johnny Smith
|
|
Johnny Smith, American jazz guitarist, was born John Henry Smith, Jr. on June 25, 1922 in Birmingham, Alabama. His most critically acclaimed album was "Moonlight in Vermont" (one of Downbeat magazine's top two jazz records for 1952). It features the inimitable Stan Getz and Zoot Simms on the saxophone as well. Smith's viruousity on the album is evidenced and characterized by his trademark closed position chord voicings, which contained a legato melody that was smoothly unerring throughout the changes. Not to mention the rapidly ascending upward lines (reminiscent of Django, but more diatonic than chromatically-based). An extremely diverse guitarist/arranger, he was at equally at home playing in the famous Birdland jazz club or sightreading scores in the orchestral pit of the New York Philharmonic. From Schoenberg to Gershwin to originals (i.e. the swinging "Jaguar" from Moonlight in Vermont), Smith was undoubtedly one of the most versatile guitarists of the 20th century. He stepped out of the public eye/ear in the early sixties to raise his daughter after the passing of his wife.