Bill Smith

Not to be confused with another prominent Bill Smith (co-editor of Coda and a notable avant-garde soprano saxophonist), this particular Bill Smith was associated with <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E">Dave Brubeck</a> on and off for decades. Smith studied at Juilliard School and with <a href="spotify:artist:6bwXuNL4AuC7w3AxspKXn6">Darius Milhaud</a> at Mills College. He was part of <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E">the Dave Brubeck Octet</a> between 1947 and 1951 (a recording resulted) and was always open to the idea of utilizing ideas from the modern classical music world in jazz. Unlike <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E">Brubeck</a>, Smith became a college professor, teaching at USC. He recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:6TDBjaKrCj3BvbxhiUSbog">Red Norvo</a> (1957), <a href="spotify:artist:6M7ScGp8p2GspFJaIMh1Yo">Shelly Manne</a> (his "Concerto for Clarinet and Combo" in 1957) and three advanced records for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fantasy%22">Fantasy</a> in <a href="spotify:artist:68l2i6GeNtwQlhKS59u5bu">Paul Desmond</a>'s place with <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E">the Dave Brubeck Quartet</a> (1959-1961). After winning a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition, Smith spent six years in Italy, part of the time leading the American Jazz Ensemble. Smith taught at the University of Washington and from 1982 through the '90s was a regular member of <a href="spotify:artist:4iRZAbYvBqnxrbs6K25aJ7">Brubeck's Quartet</a>, alternating with <a href="spotify:artist:1g6mlFfY9TXI3bs5FioUZ4">Bobby Militello</a>. In addition to his many recordings with <a href="spotify:artist:3kUKwTJdH8FuWzF8p6Dg9E">Brubeck</a> and a couple with his American Jazz Ensemble, Smith recorded as a leader for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Contemporary%22">Contemporary</a> (1959), a couple titles from a live "Americans In Europe" concert for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Impulse%22">Impulse</a> (1963), and for the Italian <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Edi-Pan%22">Edi-Pan</a> (1977) and Jazz Music (1978) labels. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi