James Howard Smith (January 27, 1938 – September 17, 2024) was an American jazz drummer.
Contents
Early life and education
The cousin of Larry Young, Smith was born in Newark, New Jersey. He studied at the Al Germansky School for Drummers from 1951 to 1954 and the Juilliard School in 1959 and 1960.
Career
Smith began his professional career in New York City around 1960.
In the 1960s, he played with Jimmy Forrest (1960), Larry Young (1960–62), Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross (1962–63), Pony Poindexter (1963), Jimmy Witherspoon (1963), Gildo Mahones (1963), Jimmy McGriff (1963–65), and Groove Holmes (1965).
From 1967 to 1974 he played with Erroll Garner before moving to California around 1975. He then played with: Benny Carter (1975, 1978, 1985), Sonny Criss (1975), Bill Henderson (1975, 1979), Hank Jones (1976), Ernestine Anderson (1976, 1986), Plas Johnson (1976), Phineas Newborn, Jr. (1976), Harry Edison (1976–78, with Eddie Lockjaw Davis and Zoot Sims), Lorez Alexandria (1977–78), Tommy Flanagan (1978), Terry Gibbs (1978, 1981), Bob Cooper (1979), Marshal Royal (1980), Great Guitars (1980), Barney Kessel (1981), Herb Ellis (1981), Buddy DeFranco (1981), Al Cohn (1983), Red Holloway (1987), and Dave McKenna (1988). In 1993, he toured Japan with Jimmy Smith and Kenny Burrell.
In 1977, Smith performed at the Montreux International Jazz Festival with Oscar Peterson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ray Brown, Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie.
Smith died on September 17, 2024, at the age of 86.
Discography
With Ernestine Anderson
Hello Like Before (Concord, 1977)
Be Mine Tonight (Concord, 1987)
With Kenny Burrell
Ellington Is Forever (Fantasy, 1975)
Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (Fantasy, 1975)
With Benny Carter
Benny Carter 4: Montreux '77 (Pablo Live, 1977)
A Gentleman and His Music (Concord, 1985)
With Sonny Criss
Crisscraft (Muse, 1975)
Out of Nowhere (Muse, 1976)
With Harry Edison
Edison's Lights (Pablo, 1976)
Simply Sweets (Pablo, 1978) with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Just Friends (Pablo, 1978 [1980]) with Zoot Sims
With Tommy Flanagan
Something Borrowed, Something Blue (Galaxy, 1978)
With Jimmy Forrest
Forrest Fire (New Jazz, 1960)
With Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie Jam (Pablo, 1977)