I like Johnny Smith. Nice interview here.
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Double Bass Johnny Smith Interview
- Thread starter ChuckCorbis
- Start date
Chuck,
I've listened to the first 17 minutes - I like listening to smart people talk about their art.
I'll get to the rest of this later this week.
I didn't know of him prior to today. Can you provide a brief summary of his career, and how you first heard him? I'd appreciate it.
Thanks for posting this.
I've listened to the first 17 minutes - I like listening to smart people talk about their art.
I'll get to the rest of this later this week.
I didn't know of him prior to today. Can you provide a brief summary of his career, and how you first heard him? I'd appreciate it.
Thanks for posting this.
Not to jump Chuck's response but this is Johnny's most well known moment, and one of the sides that made Stan a star
To be honest i don't know a lot about him. I know he wasn't from NY but was a heavy technician and so super busy on the NYC scene while he was here, jazz, commercial and even classical. I think that chord stuff he's doing at the beginning is supposed to be pretty difficult
John was a mentor and close friend of mine. He was originally from Birmingham, Alabama, but moved to NYC and became a staff recording artist. I'm from Denver and John moved down to Colorado Springs after his wife's death in1958. The move was made because of the health of his daughter, who had a respiratory illness and required a dry climate.
Point of interest that you may not be aware of, is that although he was a true virtuoso, he never really improvised his solos. He memorized them and on every tune he played, you got what you heard him play on the same tune the night before. But, he was a ferocious technician and could pull off some fantastic runs up the fingerboard that would make your hair stand on end. He was a real gentleman and taught me how to enjoy a very dry martini without getting sloppy drunk.
Here's a pic, shot at a sound check at the Paramont Theatre in Denver with myself, John and Chet Atkins. The drums were Jake Hanna's. I think it was 1983.
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Point of interest that you may not be aware of, is that although he was a true virtuoso, he never really improvised his solos. He memorized them and on every tune he played, you got what you heard him play on the same tune the night before. But, he was a ferocious technician and could pull off some fantastic runs up the fingerboard that would make your hair stand on end. He was a real gentleman and taught me how to enjoy a very dry martini without getting sloppy drunk.
Here's a pic, shot at a sound check at the Paramont Theatre in Denver with myself, John and Chet Atkins. The drums were Jake Hanna's. I think it was 1983.
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I first heard of Johnny Smith from his composition Walk Don't Run which was rearranged by the Ventures as a "surf music" tune that made the Billboard pop charts. I learned some things about guitar technique from watching the interview above. Thanks.
Walk, Don't Run (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Breakstone recorded a good jazz arrangement of Walk Don't Run and Chet Atkins recorded a finger-style version with more of a country feel.
Walk, Don't Run (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Breakstone recorded a good jazz arrangement of Walk Don't Run and Chet Atkins recorded a finger-style version with more of a country feel.
Thanks for the participation guys. I can only add that for me as a guitarist, Johnny's chord solos were the best. He got a legato sound with close harmony voicings. I learned some of his arrangements. Was going to post one that I play but out of respect I will refrain. The 'Moonlight in Vermont' track above is what I like. It is completely different than Pass, Montgomery, Atkins, Farlow, Raney , Van Eps or anybody. I do seem to remember Jim Hall saying he liked Johnny's legato approach to chords. Can't remember if it was an interview. His single line playing was crystal clear and clean. He could play at blistering speed. I really like his interpretation of Debussy's 'Maid with the Flaxen Hair'.
I grew up in Colorado Springs in the 70s-80s, and knew Johnny as the friendly guy behind the counter at my local neighborhood music store, Johnny Smith Music. It was only years later that I realized what a giant he was--as a kid I had no idea. Here is an article about his life and career from the New York Times, written after he passed away in 2013:
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