Keith Smith
b. 19 March 1940, London, England. Taking up the trumpet in his youth, Smith originally favoured New Orleans style and established a considerable reputation in this field. In the late '50s and through to the mid-60s he played with several bands, leading his own in Europe and the USA, where he performed and recorded with George Lewis and ‘ Captain’ John Handy. Smith was also a member of the New Orleans All Stars, a package of mostly American musicians who toured Europe in the '60s. After a spell in Denmark with Papa Bue Jensen's band in the early '70s, he again formed his own band in the UK. He named the band Hefty Jazz, a name he also gave to his own record company and booking agency, and established a practice of touring with well-conceived thematic package shows. Among these were ‘The Wonderful World Of Louis Armstrong’, for which he hired such ex-Louis Armstrong sidemen as Arvell Shaw and Barrett Deems, 100 Years Of Dixieland Jazz and The Stardust Road, a tribute to the music of Hoagy Carmichael, which was headlined by Georgie Fame. A dedicated musician who also combines effective business and entrepreneurial skills, Smith remains at the forefront of the UK's traditional jazz scene in the '90s.