Paul Smith (pianist)’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro Jazz pianist from the United States
Was Musician 
Jazz musician 
Pianist 
From United States of America 
Type Music 
Gender male
Birth 17 April 1922, San Diego
Death 29 June 2013, Torrance
(aged 91 years)

Paul Thatcher Smith (April 17, 1922 – June 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist. He performed in various genres of jazz, most typically bebop, but is best known as an accompanist of singers, especially Ella Fitzgerald.

Early life

Smith was born in San Diego, California to parents, Lon Smith and Constance Farmer, who were vaudeville performers and encouraged his interest in music. He began studying piano at age 8, and led a jazz band in high school and became a professional musician at 19 with the Johnny Richards band.

Later life and career

After playing with Richards in 1941 and spending 1943 to 1945 in the military, Smith worked with Les Paul (1946–1947) and Tommy Dorsey (1947–1949) before moving to Los Angeles and becoming a studio musician. Studio work took up much of his time: he worked as a staff musician for NBC and Warner Brothers, and for many years he was the musical director for Dinah Shore’s daytime talk show.

Smith recorded frequently both with his trios and as a soloist. In addition he is featured on work of artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Anita O’Day, Buddy DeFranco, Louie Bellson, Steve Allen, Stan Kenton, Mel Tormé and others. He was the musical director on The Steve Allen Comedy Hour television show in the 1960s.

Between 1956 and 1978, Smith was active as a conductor and pianist for Ella Fitzgerald, although he continued to work with her until the early 1990s.

Smith authored a number of educational books and CDs, most of which focus on explaining his particular approach to jazz piano.

He also worked on film scores and his playing can be heard on the soundtracks of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and Nickelodeon among some others.

Smith died on June 29, 2013, in Torrance, California of heart failure. He was 91 and performed in Southern California nightclubs, including The Velvet Turtle in Redondo Beach during the 1980s and the Terranea Resort hotel until his death. He is survived by his wife of 54 years Annette Warren; his daughter, actress Lauri Johnson; two sons, Gary and Paul; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Discography

As leader

  • Liquid Sounds (Capitol, 1954)
  • Cascades (New Liquid Sounds By Smith) (Capitol, 1955)
  • Cool and Sparkling (Capitol, 1956)
  • By the Fireside (Savoy, 1956)
  • Delicate Jazz (Capitol, 1958)
  • Latin Keyboard & Percussion (Verve, 1960)
  • Brazilian Detour (Warner Bros., 1966)
  • Intensive Care (Pausa, 1984)
  • Paul Smith Plays Steve Allen (Pausa, 1985)
  • Charlie Parker for Piano (Granite, 1987)

As sideman

With Herb Alpert

  • Rise (A&M, 1979)

With Chet Baker

  • Albert’s House (Beverley Hills, 1969)

With Buddy Bregman

  • Swinging Kicks (Verve, 1957)

With June Christy

  • Something Cool (Capitol, 1953-55)

With Bing Crosby

  • Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (Verve, 1956)
  • A Southern Memoir (1975, London Records)
  • Bingo Viejo (1975, London Records)

With Ella Fitzgerald

  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (Verve, 1956)
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (Verve, 1958)
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book (Verve, 1959)
  • Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife (Verve, 1960)
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from “Let No Man Write My Epitaph” (Verve, 1960)
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (Verve, 1961)
  • Twelve Nights in Hollywood (Verve, 1961-62 [2009])
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book (Verve, 1964)
  • Digital III at Montreux (Pablo, 1979)

With Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

  • Porgy and Bess (Verve, 1957)

With Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie

  • A Perfect Match (Pablo, 1979)

With Buddy Rich

  • Buddy Rich Just Sings (1957, Verve)

With various artists

  • Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (1983, Pablo)

With Bill Withers

  • ‘Bout Love (Columbia, 1978)

With Frank Zappa and his Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra

  • Lumpy Gravy (Capitol, 1967)
You May Also Like

Tom Candiotti’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Tom Candiotti Net Worth: Tom Candiotti is a former American professional baseball player who has a net worth of $13 million. Tom Candiotti was born in Walnut Creek, California, in 1957. He played college baseball for Saint Mary’s College of California near his hometown, where he pitched for four years before failing to get drafted into Major League Baseball. Candiotti played in Canada and attracted the attention of MLB scouts; he was sold to the Kansas City Royals in 1980. Eventually, Candiotti was chosen by the Milwaukee brewers during the Rule 5 Draft and he made his MLB debut on August 8, 1983 with the team. He played with the Brewers until 1984 before joining the Cleveland Indians from 1986 until 1991. Candiotti later played with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991, the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1992 until 1997, the Oakland Athletics from 1998 until 1999, and the Indians a second time in 1999. The right-handed pitcher finished his pro playing career with a 151-164 win-loss record to go along with an earned run average of 3.73 and more than 1700 strikeouts. He last appeared with the Indians on July 24, 1999. Following his retirement, Candiotti landed a job in the Indians organization with the front office. He later worked as a broadcaster and analyst with ESPN and “Baseball Tonight.” Candiotti now works for the radio team for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has been married several times.
Read More

Wale’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Wale net worth: Wale is an American rapper who has a net worth of $5 million dollars. He first rose to fame in 2006, when his song “Dig Dug (Shake It)” became popular in his hometown of Washington, D.C. Early Life: Wale was born in Washington, D.C. on September 21, 1984 as Olubowale Victor Akintimehin. His parents were originally from southwestern Nigeria and both of them came from Austria to the U.S. in 1979. In 2002, Wale graduated from Quince Orchard High School. He originally pursued a career in football, and attended college at Robert Morris University and Virginia State University on football scholarships. He subsequently chose to drop out and focus on music, and began to make a name for himself in the mid-2000s. Career: His first single to receive radio play was 2006’s “Rhyme of the Century”. He released his first mixtape “Paint a Picture” the same year and began to attract the attention of publications like The Source and The Washington Post. His track “Dig Dug (Shake It)” became instantly popular in Washington D.C. and was a tribute to Ronald “Dig Dug” Dixon, a percussion player for the go-go band Northeast Groover. In September 2006, “Uptown Roamers” debuted on XM Radio Channel 66 where it was played twice a day. That track and his other hit “Breakdown” were featured on Wale’s second mixtape “Hate Is the New Love.” In January 2007, Wale released a new single to radio called “Good Girls.” By the release of his third mixtape in 2007, he had been named “D.C. Metro Breakthrough Artist of the Year”, caught the attention of Fader Magazine, and toured as part of Mark Ronson’s UK Tour. He signed to both Interscope and Allido Records in 2008. His debut studio album, “Attention Deficit”, dropped in 2009 to positive critical remarks and reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 200. Wale released his sixth mixtape, “More About Nothing,” in August 2010. In October 2011, Wale held a private media listening event as a sampler for his upcoming album. It was held at the Gansevoort Hotel of Chelsea in New York and was attended by music executives, bloggers, various artists, and hip hop heads. His second album “Ambition” was released at midnight on November 2, 2011. Wale and friends held a midnight release show at The Highline Ballroom in New York City. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and sold 162,600 copies in its first week. The album received mixed reviews. He released a third album in 2013 titled The Gifted which reached #1 on the Billboard 200 as well as on the US R&B and US Rap charts and #10 in Canada. Wale’s fourth studio album The Album About Nothing was released in 2015 and also reached #1 on the Billboard 200, US R&B, and US Rap charts. This album featured Jerry Seinfeld, J. Cole, Usher, SZA, and many other artists. It became his second No. 1 album in the United States. That same year, Wale recorded the original music theme for the popular ESPN sports talk show “First Take.” In April 2017, Wale released his fifth studio album “Shine.” It sold 28,000 units in its first week. After he parted ways with Atlantic Records, Wale released a surprise four-track EP titled “It’s Complicated” in March 2018. Two months later, Wale released a second EP titled “Self Promotion.”  In May 2018, it was announced that Wale had been signed to Warner Records. In September 2018, he released a third EP titled “Free Lunch.” On December 20, 2018, he released two tracks, “Winter Wars” and “Poledancer” ahead of his sixth album, “Wow..That’s Crazy” released on October 11, 2019. This album included the single “On Chill.” On June 19, 2020, Wale released an EP, “The Imperfect Storm.” Wale’s single “Lotus Flower Bomb” (featuring Miguel) reached #1 on the US R&B chart and he has also had success with the singles “Chillin” (featuring Lady Gaga), “That Way” (featuring Jeremih and Rick Ross), “Bag of Money” (featuring Rick Ross, Meek Mill, and T-Pain), “Bad” (featuring Tiara Thomas or Rihanna), “Ride Out” (with Kid Ink, Tyga, YG, and Rich Homie Quan), and more. Wale has won BET Awards and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for “Lotus Flower Bomb”. In 2013, Wale won a Soul Train Award for Best Hip Hop Song of the Year for his single “Bad” featuring Tiara Thomas. Other Ventures: Outside of his music career, Wale teamed up with Philadelphia retailer Ruvilla and ASICS in 2015 to work on a product called Bottle Rocket Asics Gel Lyte. Wale is an avid professional wrestling fan and has made several wrestling references in his songs. He hosts the annual WaleMania during WrestleMania weekend and has also made several appearances on WWE television. On July 4, 2017, Wale hosted a rap battle between The New Day and the Usos on an episode of “Smackdown Live.” He was also the guest commentator during Noam Dar TJP’s match on “205 Live” in 2018. In October 2019, Wale escorted former NXT Tag Team champions The Street Profits to the ring for their title shot. Personal Life: Wale is separated from his long-time girlfriend Chloe Alexis, but the two share a daughter who was born in July 2016. He owns property in Atlanta, Georgia, but sublets a penthouse apartment in New York City.
Read More