Louis Smith born 20 May 1931

Edward Louis Smith (May 20, 1931 – August 20, 2016) was a talented but under-recorded straight-ahead bop trumpeter who led two dates in the '50s before retiring to teach at the University of Michigan and the nearby Ann Arbor Public School system. For most of his career, he remained a teacher, making a brief comeback in the late '70s before returning to education. It wasn't until the mid-'90s that he resumed a recording career in earnest, turning out a series of albums for the Steeplechase label. 

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Smith began playing trumpet as a teenager. Although his father Walter was an ice delivery man, the love of music, specifically Jazz, Blues, and Gospel, was a huge part of Black culture in Memphis, and Walter Smith had big dreams for Louis. Walter purchased an old used trumpet and Louis would practice playing his horn after school every day. Walter was determined to help Louis to establish a solid musical foundation, and while Louis was still a teenager, his father would take him to Beale St. for nightly jam sessions where Louis would spend a great deal of time watching, listening, and sitting in with the great jazz and blues musicians of the time. 

At Manassas high school he was a member of the Manassas High School Rhythm Bombers and in 1948 graduated with a scholarship to Tennessee State University, where he studied music and became a member of the Tennessee State Collegians and performed at Carnegie Hall with Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstein, and Sarah Vaughn. Following his college graduation, Smith did a little graduate work at Tennessee before transferring to the University of Michigan, where he studied with professor Clifford Lillya. At Michigan, he had opportunities to play with traveling musicians, including Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. 

Louis graduated from Tennessee State with a Bachelor of Science in Music and in  January 1954, he was drafted into the Army, where he played in the Special Services Band, spending a little over a year and a half in his tour of duty. Once he left the Army in late 1955, he began teaching at the Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia. While teaching at Booker T. Washington, Smith continued playing bop and hard bop in clubs, and was able to jam with Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Dorham, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson, Zoot Sims, and Philly Joe Jones, among many others. 

                                   

In 1956, he made his recording debut as a sideman on Kenny Burrell's Swingin'. A year later, he had the opportunity to lead his own recording session for Tom Wilson's Boston-based Transition label. His playing on the set was one of his best efforts and was described by one critic as "monstrous".  He assembled a quintet featuring Cannonball Adderley (who performed under the pseudonym Buckshot La Funke), bassist Doug Watkins, drummer Art Taylor, and pianists Duke Jordan and Tommy Flanagan, who alternated on the date. Transition went out of business before the label had the chance to release the record. 

Louis Smith, Charlie Rouse & Sonny Clark 

Blue Note chief Alfred Lion purchased all the Transition masters and signed Smith to an exclusive contract, releasing the session as Here Comes Louis Smith. During 1958, the trumpeter played on two Blue Note sessions -- Kenny Burrell's Blue Lights and Booker Little's Booker Little 4 and Max Roach -- in addition to leading the date that became Smithville. That brief burst of activity turned out to be his only recording dates for 20 years. 

Louis performed as a staff musician with Motown Records, traveled and recorded with greats such as, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye, Ashford and Simpson, and many others. He was featured on the classic1972 R&B recordings, "Papa was a Rolling Stone," and "What's Going On." Smith moved back to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, where he taught at the University of Michigan and public schools. Between 1978 and 1979, he cut a pair of albums -- Just Friends and Prancin' -- before returning to teaching. 

A decade later, Smith resumed his recording career in earnest. After playing on Mickey Tucker's Sweet Lotus Lips in 1989, he signed with Steeplechase and recorded Ballads for Lulu in 1990. He didn't return to the studio for another four years, but he did record two albums -- Silvering and Strike Up the Band -- in 1994. The Very Thought of You appeared in 1995. A year later, Smith recorded I Waited for You, which was followed by There Goes My Heart in 1997. 

Retired from teaching, Smith suffered a stroke in 2006, and subsequently became a regular presence among audience members at Southeastern Michigan jazz venues but did not return to performing or recording. His wife Lulu took care of his daily care until Louis Smith's death on Saturday, August 20, 2016 during a therapy session at the Glacer Hills Rehabilitation Center. He was 85 years old. 

(Edited from AllMusic, Legacy & Wikipedia)