Carrie Smith

A blues belter in the classic tradition, Carrie Smith was born August 25, 1941, in Fort Gaines, GA. Despite making her debut at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival while a member of a New Jersey church choir, she did not truly emerge on the jazz circuit until the early '70s, in the company of <a href="spotify:artist:1VeFbX7iUKOxWtsIm7tk9O">Big "Tiny" Little</a>. In November of 1974, Smith's riveting performance as <a href="spotify:artist:5ESobCkc6JI4tIMxQttqeg">Bessie Smith</a> (no relation) in <a href="spotify:artist:5RRGjsMRTbm0kqvZcFplZT">Dick Hyman</a>'s Carnegie Hall production of Satchmo Remembered brought her fame throughout the international musical community. Soon, she began touring as a solo act, and in a short time began recording as well; still, despite subsequent performances in conjunction with the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra, <a href="spotify:artist:0rB0wkUa4moqzOfReaAVGF">Tyree Glenn</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3od5Mdj7OgLATvDkDynmHH">the World's Greatest Jazz Band</a>, Smith remained little more than a cult figure in the U.S., proving better received in Europe. While rooted firmly in the blues and gospel, she was a singer of considerable range and depth, as recordings like 1976's Do Your Duty and the following year's When You're Down and Out prove; despite never earning significant success, she remained an active figure both on-stage and in the studio through the 1990s. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi