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Anthony Edwards is one of those new faces among the staff at
JRM. Almost by accident we learned that his great grandfather (below,
in white) is a trumpet player whom we have admired on several
occasions, most memorably at the Jazz Institute of Chicago's May 4,
1981 Jabbo Smith concert where he played trumpet in Blind John Davis'
jump band with Sax Mallard on tenor and Jump Jackson on drums.
Anthony fills in the story ... -Bob Koester
In every Jazz book and magazine you hear names like Louis Armstrong,
King Oliver, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. In the history of Jazz,
Chicago Jazz in particular, there is one musician whose contribution
was great, but whose name is rarely mentioned. This article is
dedicated to this unsung hero, my great grandfather, Henderson
Smith.
On November 24, 1913 Henderson Louis Smith III was born to Violet and
Henderson Smith II, in Greenwood, Mississippi. When he was only 3 his
family moved to Chicago. At an early age his mother began giving him
piano lessons. Realizing that he was a gifted musician she encouraged
him to play many instruments, including the violin, which he began
playing at only 5 years old. He finally started playing the trumpet
when he enrolled at High School at Wendell Phillips. There he met
Captain Dyett who was the school's band director. Captain Dyett took
an interest in him and became his mentor. Once he graduated he
married my great grandmother Ida Mae Robinson at the age of 17.
He began playing around town with whomever he could, for only 25
cents a night. Soon he was playing gigs with Nat King Cole, Fletcher
Henderson, Billy Eckstine, Sun Ra and many other great artists. In
the 1950's he moved to Chatham, a very prominent neighborhood. He
lived on the same block as Thomas Dorsey and Mahalia Jackson, and
around the corner from Red Saunders and Nat Ones. His house became
the "hot spot" for local and out of town musicians to hang out at. He
would have lavish parties with Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Dizzy
Gillespie, and a host of other musicians in attendance.
When he put together his own band, The Henderson Smith Orchestra, he
featured such artists as Nat Jones, and George Dixon. They used to
play at the Rum Boogie, the Grand Ballroom, and one of his favorite
venues, the Annual 2nd Ward Democratic Ball.
My great grandfather, (Papa as I used to call him) was a phenomenal
musician. I was blessed to have him as my trumpet teacher until he
died on February 18, 1993. I was looking at an old picture of him,
trumpet raised as he stood on stage in a smoke filled room full of
people, when I realized that his largesse to the history of Chicago
jazz was too valuable to ignore. Here's to you Papa. - Anthony
Edwards