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Geoffrey Smith (born 1943, Michigan) is a British-based American radio presenter, author and former jazz percussionist. Smith was the regular presenter of BBC Radio 3's Jazz Record Requests for over twenty years and has also presented other programmes on the network.
Smith's father was a pianist who also played banjo in his local dance-band in Detroit. Smith's own active jazz career ended in 1969, discouraged by the rise of rock music. In 1973 he came to Britain to complete a PhD, where he began a new career as a freelance journalist and lecturer, contributing articles and reviews to Country Life , New Society and The Spectator among others. He remains a regular contributor to Country Life and The Economist , for whom he writes on music and other cultural subjects.
His first book, published in 1983, was a survey of the Savoy Opera. His biography of Stéphane Grappelli followed in 1987. In 1988 he adapted the Grappelli book into a series for BBC Radio 3, the first of his many broadcasts for the network. In 1991, on the death of Peter Clayton, he became the regular presenter of Jazz Record Requests until 2012 when Alyn Shipton took over as the presenter. [1] A new series hosted by Smith, Geoffrey Smith's Jazz, began on 6 May 2012 [2] and ran until 27 October 2019. [3]
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. He has been called "the grandfather of jazz violinists" and continued playing concerts around the world well into his eighties.
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The station describes itself as "the world's most significant commissioner of new music", and through its New Generation Artists scheme promotes young musicians of all nationalities. The station broadcasts the BBC Proms concerts, live and in full, each summer in addition to performances by the BBC Orchestras and Singers. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama.
Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inklings.
David Jay Grisman is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic musicians.
Martin Taylor, MBE is a British jazz guitarist who has performed solo, in groups, guitar ensembles, and as an accompanist.
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French jazz violinist and composer.
Sir George Albert Shearing, was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 titles, including the jazz standards "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Conception", and had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. He died of heart failure in New York City, at the age of 91.
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith, better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song "If You're a Viper".
David Allan "Kid" Jensen is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 to 1984, as a host on BBC Radio 1 and presenter on the TV music programme Top of the Pops from 1977 to 1984. Jensen has also hosted and presented for Capital FM and ITV among other stations.
Svend Asmussen was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing-style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.
Lynn Margaret Parsons is a British disc jockey.
Allan Anthony Ganley was an English jazz drummer and arranger.
William Charles "Diz" Disley was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and banjoist. He is best known for his acoustic jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, for his contributions to the UK trad jazz, skiffle and folk scenes as a performer and humorist, and for his collaborations with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli.
Claire Martin, OBE is an English jazz singer.
Tim Kliphuis is a Dutch violinist renowned for mixing gypsy jazz with classical and folk music, whose recent works have been dedicated to raising awareness about climate change.
René Urtreger is a French bebop pianist.
Peter James Clayton was an English jazz presenter on BBC Radio, jazz critic, and author. From October 1968 until his death in August 1991, Clayton presented jazz recordings, interviews, studio performances, and live performances on BBC Radio 1, 2, and 3, as well as the BBC World Service. He co-authored several books about music and jazz with Peter Gammond and was a frequent contributor to jazz magazines.
Alyn Shipton is an English jazz author, presenter, critic, and jazz bassist.
"Sunny Skies" is a song written by James Taylor that first appeared on his 1970 album Sweet Baby James. It was also released as the B-side to the "Country Road" single. It has since been covered by other artists, including Stéphane Grappelli and Jerry Douglas.
André "Dédé" Ceccarelli is a French jazz drummer.
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