He put so much oomph into his horn that I have seen a drunken noisy cabaret crowd get quiet as a mouse when Joe [Smith] started off on a sweet sentimental tune. Once a drunken fellow, crowding up close to listen, bumped the bell of his horn, hitting Joe's mouth a hard lick. This would have made the average musician mad as hell. Joe just smiled and said, "Pops, be careful. You don't know what you're doing to me." Joe was like that. he played the cleanest, purest trumpet of all time. His tone had soul and packed so much emotion that it could easily have been mistaken for a woman singing.