Joe Smith

Who was Joe Smith?

Joe "Fox" Smith was an American jazz trumpeter.

Smith was born on the June 28, 1902 in Ripley, Ohio. He came from a family of musicians- his father, Luke Smith, Sr. was a bandleader, and six of his brothers also played the trumpet or trombone- Luke, Stanley, Doonie, Charles, and Carpathia. Three of them, one being Russell Smith, went on to play professionally.

Known throughout his childhood as "Toots", Smith originally started out as a drummer but was convinced by Ethel Waters that he was far better as a trumpet player. It has been said that when he reached New York in 1920 he already had a fully formed style, which achieved "the vocalised sound, the blues spirit and the swing which makes for convincing jazz performance".

In 1921, Smith joined the Black Swan Jazz Masters in Chicago, directed at the time by Fletcher Henderson who described Smith as "the most soulful trumpet I ever had". He also worked with the Jazz Hounds, the Broadway Syncopators, and finally with McKinney's Cotton Pickers throughout 1920s. He became famous from his work accompanying Bessie Smith, recording over 30 records. Some of the other artists he worked with include Billy Paige, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, and Allie Ross.