Clifton Arnold (3 March 1918 – 2008), better known as Cliff Smalls, Feather, Leonard and Ira Gitler. ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' was an American jazz trombonist, pianist, conductor and arranger who worked in the jazz, soul and rhythm & blues genres.Jazz Initiative "Smalls, 'Cliff' Clifton"
/ref>Chadbourne, Eugen
Allmusic biography
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Early life

Smalls was raised in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. His father, a carpenter, performed piano and organ for Charleston's Central Baptist Church. He taught Smalls

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

at an early age.

Later life and career

Jazz, early years of bebop

Smalls left Charleston with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, and also recorded with them, for instance "Off and on Blues" and "Deed I Do" (arranged by Smalls and also featuring Cat Anderson) in 1937, when Smalls was 19. His career coincided with the early years of

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

. From 1942 to 1946 he was a trombonist, arranger and also backup piano-player for band-leader and pianist Earl Hines, alongside

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, also then in the Hines band which often broadcast seven nights a week on open mikes coast-to-coast across America. Hines also used

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

, Jess Stacy and Nat "King" Cole as backup piano-players but Smalls was his favorite. Smalls also played in the

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

and Erskine Hawkins bands.

Singers, popular direction, return to jazz roots

After the inevitable post-World War II break-up of the Hines big-band, Smalls went on to play and record in smaller ensembles with his former Earl Hines band colleagues, singer and band-leader Billy Eckstine, trombonist Bennie Green, saxophonist

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April25, 1913October28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing music, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, whi ...

and singer

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

. In 1949 he recorded with JJ Johnson and Charlie Rouse. Smalls was the pianist on

's 1950 hit 'Flamingo' long with John Coltrane">John_Coltrane.html" ;"title="long with John Coltrane">long with John Coltranebut had a serious automobile accident, with

, in 1951 "so I laid in bed all of 1952, til March 1953". Recovering, Smalls shifted his musical career to serve as music director/arranger for singers Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Clyde McPhatter, Roy Hamilton and Brook Benton. He recorded ''Bennie Green with Art Farmer'' in 1956 and was, for many years, a regular with Sy Oliver's nine-piece "Little Big-Band" including, from 1974 to 1984, a regular stint in New York's

Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room was design ...

.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': Sy Oliver obituary May 28, 1988 In the 1970s Smalls returned to jazz-recording, including four solo tracks for The Complete Master Jazz Piano Series in 1970, with Sy Oliver in 1973, ''Texas Twister'' with Buddy Tate in 1975, ''Swing and Things'' in 1976 and 'Caravan' in France in 1978. In 1980 Smalls was featured playing piano in '' The Cotton Club'', directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smalls, Cliff Musicians from Charleston, South Carolina 1918 births 2008 deaths Black & Blue Records artists