Willie "The Lion" Smith

[jazz man]

I thought this fantastic pianist deserved his own thread, separate from the ones on stride. Seeing as he didn't record as a soloist until nearly 1940, does anyone know the best place to find his recordings, particularly his Commodore recordings?

Edited yesterday at 01:13 PM by jazz man

[JSngry]

You'll definitely want to hear his talking record.

https://www.discogs.com/master/731387-Willie-The-Lion-Smith-The-Memoirs-Of-Willie-The-Lion-Smith

[Chuck Nessa]

Also worthy of attention:

 

[Big Beat Steve]

5 hours ago, jazz man said:

I thought this fantastic pianist deserved his own thread, separate from the ones on stride. Seeing as he didn't record under his own name until nearly 1940, does anyone know the best place to find his recordings, particularly his Commodore recordings?

What makes you think so?? What about the recordings of "Willie The Lion Smith & His Cubs" for Decca that he made between 1935 and 1937? Very nice small-band swing - more in the swing idiom than certain of his later somewhat more "old-timey" recordings where he gleefully relished his status as the grand old man of Stride piano - a role that suited this colorful character excellently.

I have a selection of these "Cubs" small band sessions on an older Ace of Hesrts LP. But I gather you are more into digital reissues, so I would only be able to direct you to the 1925-37, 1937-38 and 1938-40 volumes of his works in the Chronological Classics series, for example.

[Rabshakeh]

4 hours ago, JSngry said:

You'll definitely want to hear his talking record.

https://www.discogs.com/master/731387-Willie-The-Lion-Smith-The-Memoirs-Of-Willie-The-Lion-Smith

This is great. Didn't know about this.

[Big Beat Steve]

17 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

This is great. Didn't know about this.

I grabbed the RCA "Jazz Tribune" 2-LP set of this more on a whim at a clearance sale a couple of years ago and listened to it first in bewilderment, then in amazement. Best not to be taken in one go, but quite impressive. And it ties in nicely with interviews "accorded" by The Lion elsewhere.
He was revered as a sort of "patron-saint" of early jazz by fans of more classic forms of jazz in France in his later days, and features on him as well as interviews with him (made during his stays in Europe) were published every now and then in the "Bulletin du Hot Club de Frane" run by Hugues Panassié. Even in their French translations his colorful character comes across very distinctly in his interviews and reminiscences, and they sure are entertaining reading. 

Edited yesterday at 09:29 AM by Big Beat Steve

[jazz man]

4 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

What makes you think so?? What about the recordings of "Willie The Lion Smith & His Cubs" for Decca that he made between 1935 and 1937? Very nice small-band swing - more in the swing idiom than certain of his later somewhat more "old-timey" recordings where he gleefully relished his status as the grand old man of Stride piano - a role that suited this colorful character excellently.

I have a selection of these "Cubs" small band sessions on an older Ace of Hesrts LP. But I gather you are more into digital reissues, so I would only be able to direct you to the 1925-37, 1937-38 and 1938-40 volumes of his works in the Chronological Classics series, for example.

Apologies, you're right I should have been clearer. I meant he didn't appear on record as a soloist until then (relatively late when compared to someone like James P. Johnson). He did record "Fingerbuster" as a solo in 1934, but it wasn't released until later.

The "Cubs" small band sessions are indeed wonderful. For anyone looking for a digital release of them, I would recommend this one on Timeless Historical over the Chronogical Classics. It was restored and mastered by John R.T. Davies, which is always a good sign. As for vinyl, I would be interested in hearing how the Ace of Hearts sounds.

[medjuck]

 I interviewed Willie the Lion in the mid  '60s when he was in Toronto for a CBC tv show playing duets with Don Ewell.  They made an Lp around the same time for a private label which was eventually re-issued on Sackville.   I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know much about him at the time but of course he was a delight.  (Around the same time I saw Lonnie Johnson performing at a local coffee shop where I'd gone to meet a friend.  I didn't comprehend  his importance either. What a jerk I was.) 

Edited 12 hours ago by medjuck

[Rabshakeh]

33 minutes ago, medjuck said:

 I interviewed Willie the Lion in the mid  '60s when he was in Toronto for a CBC tv show playing duets with Don Ewell.  They made an Lp around the same time for a private label which was eventually re-issued on Sackville.   I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know much about him at the time but of course he was a delight.  (Around the same time I saw Lonnie Johnson performing at a local coffee shop where I'd gone to meet a friend.  I didn't understand how his importance either. What a jerk I was.) 

I was recently surprised to find an office junior who was a big fan of Lonnie Johnson. She (29 at the time) seemed to have mostly heard his later records and was surprised to find out about his pre-war recordings. Streaming is weird in that, whilst it has produced a generation of people who see music as background fodder, it does mean that for those who are hooked, Lonnie Johnson is no more distant than The Deftones or Steps.

Edited 17 hours ago by Rabshakeh

[mjzee]

18 hours ago, jazz man said:

I thought this fantastic pianist deserved his own thread, separate from the ones on stride. Seeing as he didn't record as a soloist until nearly 1940, does anyone know the best place to find his recordings, particularly his Commodore recordings?

Obviously, you could buy the Mosaic box "The Complete Commodore Jazz Recordings Volume I," but that could be overkill.  There was this LP, released in 1981 (ignore the ugly cover):

https://www.discogs.com/master/1618384-Willie-The-Lion-Smith-The-Original-Fourteen-Plus-Two-19381939

Besides the earlier recommendation of "The Memoirs of...", I'd like to put in a good word for this, probably his last studio album:

Smith shares the keyboard with Mike Lipskin, who was the interviewer for "The Memoirs of..." as well as a student of Smith's.  The liner notes are a little unclear about who's playing when, and on some tracks they're backed by a band (Stan Monteiro, clarinet; Chuck Rainey, bass; Elvin Jones, drums!).  

[jazz man]

18 minutes ago, mjzee said:

Obviously, you could buy the Mosaic box "The Complete Commodore Jazz Recordings Volume I," but that could be overkill.  There was this LP, released in 1981 (ignore the ugly cover):

https://www.discogs.com/master/1618384-Willie-The-Lion-Smith-The-Original-Fourteen-Plus-Two-19381939

Besides the earlier recommendation of "The Memoirs of...", I'd like to put in a good word for this, probably his last studio album:

Smith shares the keyboard with Mike Lipskin, who was the interviewer for "The Memoirs of..." as well as a student of Smith's.  The liner notes are a little unclear about who's playing when, and on some tracks they're backed by a band (Stan Monteiro, clarinet; Chuck Rainey, bass; Elvin Jones, drums!).  

Yeah, I noticed that LP was later released on CD with a different cover. Can anyone comment on the sound quality of it?

Edited 15 hours ago by jazz man

[jlhoots]

18 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Also worthy of attention:

 

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