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Odds & Ends . . .

IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER

(This came from a job I did with these gentlemen in the late 90's. I woke up the next morning, still thinking about the music and the audience. I wrote the following which later appeared in the "As I See It" column of the Kansas City Star.)

"When local saxophonist Mike Perryman called me not long ago for a “nice little job” at Bartle Hall, I didn’t hesitate to say yes, but I assumed it would be just that and nothing more. Mike mentioned local musicians Milt Abel, Chuck Cowen and John Armato, so what could be better?

Well, what was better was the crowd.

The National Catholic Youth Conference had Bartle Hall’s meeting rooms divided into many different venues for about 16,000 students who attended. Our room was the “Jazz Room.” As we set up, there were a few people in the audience.

A couple of students even came up and asked Chuck about his guitar. We eased into our first number very informally by Chuck just doodling around as the stage hands were still setting up the sound and lights. Soon, Milt picked up on the tune, the rest of us joined in and we were on our way.

It seemed we could do no wrong. At the end of each solo the applause increased. The end of each song brought more applause than the previous song. These high school students just ate it up, and so did we.

By the end of the first set, about 500 students almost filled the room. We thought it was great, but we figured the kids would wander off to some of the other places and we would play to a small crowd the rest of the night.

How wrong we were.

As we walked back in for the second set, the place was packed. The students who were there for the first set had gone to tell their buddies about the “Jazz Room,” and their buddies had returned in full force.

They fell in love with Milt’s playing AND singing. They roared every time John played a drum solo or “traded fours,” which is when the musicians alternate on four-bar solos. They couldn’t get enough of Chuck’s guitar, and Mike dazzled them with his clarinet and saxophone solos and his vocals.

During the break the kids came up to talk to the band. Milt was surrounded. It looked like Chuck, Mike and John were giving clinics. We heard comments such as: “I’ve never listened to jazz before but I LOVE this,” “This was the best music I ever heard,” and “Thank you, we think it’s wonderful.”

By the third set we had them standing in the aisles. Kids danced with each other in twos, threes, fours and more, while others moved to the music by themselves. It must have been like this during the swing era. It was electrifying.

And some would request songs, good songs. They came right up to the front of the stage and Mike chatted with each of them, and we played what they wanted to hear.

It was a magic time, the right guys in the right place with the right crowd. It’s heartwarming to think that these and other students enjoy the music we love so much.

We were thinking that a lot of credit must go to those numerous jazz band and vocal teachers out there still presenting a variety of good music to the students, and to countless moms and dads who still take the time to play the music in the home.

When these teen-agers returned home, I hope they took some of the joy that was in the room that night back with them to their schools and churches. They came here for a religious conference, but I hope they went back with an appreciation of the one small segment of the Kansas City jazz scene they heard: five musicians playing their hearts out for an adoring audience.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL PAUL
The liner notes that didn't make it to print until now . . .

(Bob Bowman, Todd Strait and I went into Soundtrek to record a CD. I asked my buddy Mike to write some liner notes for us even before we went in the studio to record. Since he had no music to write about, he used his imagination and came up with the following.)

"When my good friend and longtime colleague Paul Smith asked me to write the liner notes for his most recent recording project, I told him that I would do it under one condition: that I be permitted to delve into the hitherto well-kept secrets of his past. I told Paul that the time had come for a full disclosure of the mysterious details of not only his musical background, but his planetary origins as well.

Only a few of Paul’s closest friends know that he is indeed not of this world -- that he is, and has been for most of his 40-something earth years, an extraterrestrial visitor from another dimension. Oh yes, there have been those slip-ups when Paul would lapse into his native tongue much to the bewilderment of a tipsy patron at a sparsely attended club date, or on those rare occasions when a fellow musician would be afforded a quick glimpse of the green reptilian skin that is normally concealed by a convincing latex face mask.

But the fact is that Paul Smith has quite effectively mixed in with everyone all these many years, the truth of his real identity shrouded in Clark Kent-like secrecy.

As I have learned from my exhaustive investigations, Paul Smith was born on a world where polkas are used as national anthems, where B-natural actually works on C7, and where a well-aged set of bagpipes will bring thousands of dollars at auction... much like a one-of-a-kind Stradivarius would here on Earth.

By the same token, Paul’s home planet apparently has so much regard for its artists, that it has embarked upon a massive international expenditure to fund the space missions of such musical emissaries as Paul -- missions that will enable the artistic elite to “go where no jazz musician has gone before,” all in an attempt to study the customs and rituals of more primitive civilizations such as ours.

In the course of these expeditions, it was hoped that these space travelers would be able to return with explanations that would unlock some of the musical mysteries of the universe, like: why is Barry Manilow so popular? Why is “In The Mood” still played at wedding receptions? And, how do those flute-playing beauty pageant contestants smile and wink at the camera while simultaneously twirling a baton with one hand and fingering “Classical Gas” on that flute with the other?

A formidable assignment for sure for any musical explorer, let alone a piano player who still snaps his fingers on “one” and “three" and who, at two o’clock in the morning, frantically dials those televised “1-800” numbers that advertise such required anthologies as “Greatest Heavy Metal Rock Ballads of the 70’s,” and “Richard Clayderman Plays Sun Ra.” Nevertheless, Paul Smith has done both his own world, and ours, a great service. His musicianship has inspired many Earthlings (including two Methenys), and it has brought pleasure and joy to all who have had the opportunity to hear such fine artistry. What is on this recording is only further proof that, not only is music an international language, but, in the hands of such outstanding musicians as Paul Smith, Bob Bowman, Todd Strait, and Karrin Allyson, it is universal.   — Mike Metheny (November 1991)

J. TOLSON (TOLEY) SMITH
THANKS BROTHER

I was fortunate enough to have a brother - an older brother by 18 years - whom I loved and respected.
From the time I was around 5 years old, my brother made sure I took an interest in music, which was easy because I was hooked from as long as I can remember. From the time I was old enough to put a nickel (yes, that’s what it took back then) in the jukebox, I had music in my mind and heart. My brother was always there to encourage that interest even more. Never pushing, always encouraging.

Toley thought I should have piano lessons when I was very young. I know that will surprise some of you, but yes, I did take piano lessons for a short while. I didn’t much care for the lessons until my teacher, who noticed my disinterest in the music she had chosen, asked me what I’d like to play. I said, “That Lucky Old Sun,” a popular hit of the time. She wrote it out for me and I had a great time with that tune, but not great enough to keep me going with the lessons. That influence would come back years later.

Toley was a trombone player and assumed that I would play trombone in beginning band at our elementary school. But by that time I had been won over by Louis Armstrong and there was no turning back. Toley regained his composure, bought me a cornet, and proceeded to teach me the Bb scale before the first days of band. Years later I became a junior high school teacher, which, I think, was another influence from my older brother.

It wasn’t long before my pals and I started to show an interest in playing jazz. Toley helped organize our first band (The Dixie Cats) by getting music for us, rehearsing the band, and getting us our first PAYING job at the local VFW HALL. And we were all around 14 at the time!

The examples go on and on. He was my first influence, later my biggest fan and my most severe critic. He never hesitated to tell me what he thought of some of the recorded things I would send to him. If he didn’t like them, HE’D SAY SO! Because of Toley, I am who I am today. He was a great teacher, yet he sold cars for a living and was a “weekend warrior” musician. His influence on me and on other young musicians growing up in the area (see below) was motivated by a love he had for music. We’ll never really know how far-reaching Toley’s effects on others have been, but we know they are there.

Thanks, Brother! Because of you it has been, and continues to be, a wonderful ride.

PAUL E. SMITH: Piano Man
© 1994 Mike Metheny (Reprinted courtesy JAM Magazine - June 1994)

There are countless examples of unsung musical veterans who, either by choice or by circumstance, rarely bask in the limelight enjoyed by leaders and soloists. ...The piano player who's been backing up Tony Bennett all these years (Ralph Sharon); the nameless, faceless jingle singer whose legendary single-takes and flawless sight-reading tell us that State Farm is "just like a good neighbor" (Bonnie Herman); the soft-spoken Julliard-trained stalwart in any symphony you can name who's never had a moment in the sun but who still adds a flawless contribution to the musical brew night after night, year after year...

On and on the list goes. Jazz and rock, country and classical, blues and bop, New age and even Muzak. No matter. There are top-of-the-line, highly skilled professional musicians out there who have delivered the goods throughout the span of a career with little or no recognition, save for the respect of their peers.

Here in Kansas City, many examples of this phenomena can be found. And in the circles of the local jazz community, one name will invariably come to mind when discussing those artists who have been a part of the scene for a number of years but who don't get (or even want) the notoriety afforded most bandleaders.

That name is Paul E. Smith.

Blessed with the perfect "dual occupation" (a school teacher by day, a jazz pianist by night), Paul Smith has earned the admiration of his colleagues in both professions; but it is his prowess on the keyboard that keeps him in demand as one of Kansas City's first-call accompanists and rhythm section teammates. The list of jazz musicians he has backed - of both local and national stature - is impressive (more on that later). And like so many accomplished artists, it all started far from the bustle of the big city.

"I was born and raised in Bowling Green, Missouri," says Smith. "And I graduated from high school in Louisiana... Missouri."

It was during those formative years in rural Missouri that the musical bug first bit, courtesy of Toley Smith, Paul's older, and very influential, trombone playing brother.

"Toley is 18 years older, and he was my first major musical influence. The first records I remember hearing were the ones he brought home and played on Mom and Dad's old wind-up Victrola. Then later, when I was old enough to join the band, Toley taught me a scale on the trumpet. So, thanks to him, I had a head start there, too. He was the reason I got serious about music so young."

It was also Toley Smith who first hipped his younger brother to the sounds of jazz.

"By the time I got to junior and senior high, he was taking me to his dance band jobs, so I guess it was then I got my first exposure to improv. It wasn't long after that I started jobbing myself - still on trumpet - all around the Louisiana area. Then it was off to college (Central Missouri State University, or CMSU, in Warrensburg, MO) to get a teaching degree for 'something to fall back on' in case a full-time career as a performing musician wasn't for me."

Although Smith began at CMSU as a trumpet player, his "dabblings" at the keyboard (also encouraged by brother Toley) led to a change of focus and an eventual commitment to the piano; even if the piano faculty at CMSU didn't see it that way.

"At Warrensburg I flunked my first piano proficiency! ...The Star Spangled Banner, all that stuff. I went back a second time and played even worse! But they let me through anyway. This was my senior year. They actually said, 'Just don't ever try to play piano;' and I was leaving there in a few weeks to go play six nights a week!"

Freshly graduated from CMSU in 1965 (and with the reluctant blessing of that stodgy piano staff), Paul Smith ended up spending the summer as the house pianist at the "Luau Shack" in the Mai-Tai Resort at Osage Beach, MO. It was there that an important and enduring collaboration began.

"(Cornetist) Gary Sivils just happened to be down there hanging out with Marilyn Maye's band, and one night he and (guitarist) Don Wentzel dropped by and sat in with our trio. I'd never even heard of them; I introduced them to the audience as 'Don Sivils' and 'Gary Wentzel!; But that fall, after I started my first teaching gig in Raytown (MO), I learned a lot more about who they were and why they were such a big part of the KC jazz scene in the 1960s."

Even though in those early days, Paul Smith was still "a rookie," his growing keyboard skills were keen enough to land him a steady job at the old Colony Steakhouse on Broadway. It was his first taste of the aforementioned "dual occupation."
"In March of '66, I started working six nights a week behind (singer) Kay Dennis. And I was teaching five days a week on top of that. I was 23 years old; I could get away with it then. But not now."

(That gig at the Colony also featured bassist Bob Branstetter and drummer John Doubleday; "two more important teachers.")

It was also in the spring of 1966 that Gary Sivils was looking for a new piano player to replace departing John Elliot, and Sivils remembered the one he'd heard the previous summer at Osage Beach. Paul Smith got the call (to work the now-defunct Channel 3 Lounge), thus beginning what has turned into a 30+ year association with Sivils.

When asked for the obligatory 'I remember when...' from his many years with the venerable cornetist, Smith pauses and collects his thoughts. After all, Gary Sivils stories -- and "Sivils-isms" -- are plentiful. And legendary.

"Let's just put it like this: Gary cut a pretty wide path! And the really amazing thing is that his wilder days apparently happened before we met. Since '66, I guess he's been a little more settled down. Still, Gary has been a major influence and a great teacher. And, of course as everybody knows: he is The Oracle of Wisdom!" (An inside joke that only Smith and Sivils are authorized to explain.)

Other important mentors and influences over the years roll off Smith's lips with obvious admiration. And at the top of the list is the late saxophonist, Jess Cole.

"Jess was almost like a daddy to me when I was first starting out. And he told me something I've never forgotten: "The time is the most important thing. If you don't play good time, nothing else you play will sound good. It ain't what you play, it's how you play it."

Good advice from a local jazz legend that Paul Smith clearly took to heart.

In the years since those formative beginnings, and as his stature and reputation have grown, Paul Smith has found himself backing a "who's who" of nationally acclaimed jazz all-stars. He has nothing but good things to say about each experience.

• Al Cohn: "A perfect gentleman. And what a player!"
• Gary Foster: "A wonderful fellow. And he always has a great story to tell."
• Carol Sloane: "She loved the band, and we loved her; just a delight."
• Zoot Sims: "Zoot picked up his soprano and played a ballad called 'I Go To Sleep With a Smile on My Face'... It brought tears to everyone's eyes."
• Carl Fontana: "A wonderful player. And he taught me some great changes on 'Indian Summer.'"
• Bill Watrous and Nick Brignola: "(They) just tore the house (Topeka Jazz Workshop) down. Bill did that thing where you play one note, sing another and get a third. It was so much fun to work with those guys."
• Bobby Shew: "Another real delight, and just like all the others when he walked in to play with a trio he'd never heard before -- very supportive from the start."
• Bob Cooper: "One of the most fun concerts I've ever done. Coop was a superior fellow, and I can't tell you how great he played."
• Ruby Braff: "We'd heard horror stories about Ruby, that he was a real pain in the butt to work with... Well, he was a pussycat! Wonderful! And he had us in stitches! I played with him twice, and it was even more fun the second time."

It has been a long and fruitful musical life, indeed, for Paul Smith. What with nearly 30 years of backing visiting greats and supporting hometown talent, his reputation as the consummate accompanist now seems more than secure. But what about actually stepping into the leader's spotlight someday?

After so many years as a sideman? Could a "Paul Smith Band" soon become a reality?

"Only recently have I found the urge to do that," he says. "But it's purely a fantasy for now. What I would like to do someday is take a trio, or even a duo, into a nice listening kind of room; maybe do a few nights a week. It's just now that I'm finally getting brave enough to try something like that. You know, confident enough to pull off a three-hour job with a variety of styles. Maybe someday."

The Kansas City jazz community can only hope such a listening experience will soon come to pass.

In the meantime, you can catch Paul Smith in his recurring role as the pianist with Gary Sivils, Karrin Allyson ("I think we were brother and sister in another life"), the "PBT Trio" with bassist Bob Bowman and drummer Todd Strait, flugelhornist Mike Metheny and countless other jazz notables in the Kansas City area.

Or, you can find him on the ski slopes of Colorado when conditions are right and anytime a weekend is free.

True, he may have scuffled a little with our national anthem back in '65. And true, that CMSU piano jury may have had some reservations about letting a kid from Louisiana, Missouri, slip through the cracks.

But when it comes to, as he says, "making other people sound as good as possible," these days it doesn't get much better than Paul Smith.

QUOTES ...

Wine is bottled poetry — Robert Louis Stevenson

What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch — W C Fields

Wine can of their wits the wise beguile
Make the sage frolic and the serious smile — Plato

In Vino Veritas (In wine is truth)

I always cook with wine
Sometimes I add it to the food.