Willie "The Lion" Smith
Willie "The Lion" Smith in the 1920s was considered one of the big three of stride piano (along with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller) even though he made almost no recordings until the mid-'30s. His mother was an organist and pianist, and Smith started playing piano when he was six. He earned a living playing piano as a teenager, gained his nickname "the Lion" for his heroism in World War I, and after his discharge he became one of the star attractions at Harlem's nightly rent parties. Although he toured with Mamie Smith (and played piano on her pioneering 1920 blues record "Crazy Blues"), Smith mostly freelanced throughout his life. He was an influence on the young Duke Ellington (who would later write "Portrait of the Lion") and most younger New York-based pianists of the 1920s and '30s. Although he was a braggart and (with his cigar and trademark derby hat) appeared to be a rough character, Smith was actually more colorful than menacing and a very sophisticated pianist with a light touch. His recordings with his Cubs (starting in 1935) and particularly his 1939 piano solos for Commodore (highlighted by "Echoes of Spring") cemented his place in history. Because he remained very active into the early '70s (writing his memoirs Music on My Mind in 1965), for quite a few decades Willie "the Lion" Smith was considered a living link to the glory days of early jazz.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Live Zurich, Switzerland (Live)
Ragtime - Released by Storyville on Aug 20, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Willie The Lion Smith
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on Jan 1, 2001
Qobuz Référence16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dr. Jazz, Vol. 9
Dixieland - Released by Storyville on Aug 20, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Willie "The Lion" Smith and His Jazz Cubs
Jazz - Released by Jazzology on Nov 2, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Stride Piano Duets
Willie "The Lion" Smith, Don Ewell
Jazz - Released by Delmark Records on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Willie “The Lion” Smith 1934-37
Jazz - Released by Documents on Sep 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Grand Piano Duets
Willie "The Lion" Smith, Don Ewell
Jazz - Released by Sackville on Jan 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grand Piano
Willie "The Lion" Smith, Don Ewell
Ragtime - Released by Blue Pie Records USA on Jan 1, 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues Run the Game
Folk - Released by Willie Smith on Feb 10, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Soirée Willie "The Lion" Smith (Jeunesse du jazz - 05 janvier 1950)
Jazz - Released by Ina Archives on Apr 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Town Hall Concerts Five and Six (Live)
Eddie Condon, James P. Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith
Jazz - Released by Jazzology on Apr 25, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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