Johnny Smith
b. John Henry Smith Jnr., 25 June 1922, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. After first playing trumpet and violin, Smith took up the guitar on which he became best known, although he continued to play trumpet in later years. In New York in the '40s Smith maintained steady employment as a studio musician, but also took part in after-hours bop sessions. In the early '50s a recording under his own name of Moonlight In Vermont, with Stan Getz, was greeted with great popular and critical acclaim. He also recorded with Bennie Green, Kenny Clarke and others on JAZZ STUDIO, using the pseudonym Sir Jonathan Gasser, and made albums under his own name. In the '60s Smith moved west, remaining active in music as a teacher and occasional performer.