William Ernest Smith (usually called Bill Smith) (born 12 May 1938) is a Canadian writer, editor, record producer, saxophonist, and

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

of English birth. He has served as the editor of '' CODA'' magazine since 1976, and is a co-founder of

Sackville Records Sackville Records was a Canadian record company and label that specialized in jazz.Gardner/Kernfeld, "Sackville". '' Grove Jazz'' online. In 2011, with Sackville defunct, Delmark Records acquired its catalogue. Sackville was founded in 1968 in T ...

, a Canadian record label that specialized in jazz.

Early life

Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, Smith studied aeronautical design at the North Staffordshire Technical Institute, and played drums and trumpet in England, before moving to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1963 when he became the art director of '' CODA'', a jazz music magazine. In 1967, he was promoted to the role of co-publisher of ''CODA'' with John Norris. He succeeded Norris as editor of the magazine in 1976. In 1968, Smith and Norris co-founded

, is a Canadian record label specializing in jazz music.Gardner/Kernfeld, "Sackville". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

Career

While working at ''CODA'', Smith began seriously studying and performing jazz as a saxophonist and clarinetist in Toronto. He developed a modest, conversational style and began performing in freely improvised settings in the mid-1970s, first with pianist Stuart Broomer and percussionist John Mars in the

jazz trio A jazz trio is a group of three jazz musicians, often a piano trio comprising a pianist, a double bass player and a drummer. Jazz trios are commonly named after their leader, such as the Bill Evans Trio. Variants and examples Famous examples inc ...

, Broomer, Mars & Smith. He then performed with his own jazz trio, the Bill Smith Ensemble (BSE) from 1980 to 1989. Other members of the BSE included violinist David Prentice and double bass player David Lee. The BSE recorded several albums, both as a trio and with guests Leo Smith and

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, the flugelhorn and the valve trombone. Although born in Miami, Florida, McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, ...

. Smith performed in London in April 1983 as "Four Nights of Canadian Improvised Music" with fellow Canadian saxophonist, Maury Coles, starting at the Seven Dials Jazz Club, Covent Garden, run by Matthew Wright of Ray's Jazz Shop. They were accompanied by local musicians Paul Rutherford (trombone), Paul Rogers (bass) and Nigel Morris (drums). This was followed by gigs at Club Extempore, Haverstock Hill, Club Improv, Conway Street and the New Merlin's Cave. Other musicians involved included Jim Dvorak, Roger Turner, Ollie Blanchflower, Marcio Mattos, Eddie Prevost, Elton Dean and Harrison Smith (no relation). In addition to his work with the BSE, Smith performed as a sopranino saxophonist in Zes Winden (1986–88). He was also co-producer with

Ron Mann Ronald Mann (born June 13, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian documentary film film director, director. His work includes the films ''Imagine the Sound'' (1981); ''Comic Book Confidential'' (1988); ''Grass (1999 film), Grass'' (1999) and ''Go Furt ...

of a feature-length documentary about the October Revolution in Jazz, '' Imagine the Sound'' (1981), and published a collection of his jazz photography and reminiscences, ''Imagine the Sound, no.5: The Book'' (Toronto, 1985). In 1989, Smith moved the editorial offices of ''CODA'' to

Hornby Island Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, the other being Denman Island. It is located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley, A small community of 1,225 residents (as of the 2021 census), Hornby is ...

, northwest of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and thereafter played saxophone and drums locally. The magazine's business office remains in Toronto, under Norris.

Discography

* CCMC, Music Gallery LP *PICK A NUMBER Bill Smith Trio (David Lee and David Prentice), Onari LP *CONVERSATIONS with Stuart Broomer *RASTAFARI, Leo Smith with The Bill Smith Ensemble (Bill Smith, David Lee, David Prentice and Larry Potter), Sackville LP and CB *ZES WINDEN, Zes Winden (with Bill Smith, John Tchicai, Dies Le Duc, Klaas Hekman, Ad Peijnenburg and Frans Vermeerssen), BVHaast LP With

*'' Visitation'' (Sackville, 1983

985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theophanu and her mother-in-law Adelaide at an ...

LP and CD

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bill 1938 births Living people Canadian magazine editors Canadian jazz clarinetists Canadian jazz saxophonists Musicians from Bristol Canadian male saxophonists Canadian record producers Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian saxophonists 21st-century Canadian clarinetists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians