Leora Henderson in New York City

from Hear Me Talkin' To Ya: The Classic Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It, pages 221-222:

[W]hen the time came to do the show [at the Lafayette Theatre, New York], he came into the pit with me. I didn't know it then, but he had hidden a trumpet there, and when some blues singer (I just can't remember her name) began to sing, Joe [Smith] played. And the people started to howl. I'm telling you, I couldn't play another note that night!

He came to the theatre every day after that band I helped to make him read and he really could play anything. […] Joe had such a big soft beautiful sound. Bessie Smith was just crazy about his playing and he was on lots of her …   more >>

cite as

Nat Hentoff and Nat Shapiro, Hear Me Talkin' To Ya: The Classic Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It (London, 1992), p. 221-222. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1435225924323 accessed: 18 April, 2024

location of experience: New York City

Listeners

Leora Henderson
classically trained musician, Jazz trumpeter

Listening to

hide composers
Blues performed by Joe Smith

Experience Information

Medium live, playback
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by 5011Henning on Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:52:04 +0100
Approved on Tue, 30 Aug 2016 15:59:12 +0100