Jeffery Smith (musician)

Jeffery Smith (14 September 1955[1] – 2012) was a baritone jazz vocal recording artist, perhaps best known for his albums on Verve, among them his distinctive debut release produced by Shirley Horn, and his self-produced records, including Down Here Below and A Little Sweeter, which was praised in a full page review in TIME as being "the most vital album of the year".[2]

Jeffery Smith's musical career included two world tours and four albums with the Claude Bolling Big Band,[3] performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, in tribute to Louis Armstrong, and collaborations with a wide variety of artists including Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, Regina Carter, Joe Lovano, Dee Dee Bridgewater and TK Blue. Smith was also the founder and director of Tri-Loxodonta Productions, a not-for-profit music organization cultivating jazz in upstate New York.

At age 17 moved from New York to San Diego where he spent fifteen years.[1][3] He worked in theater and television at the time. He moved back to New York in 1983[1] He moved to Paris, France in September 1991 wanting to change his life.[1][3][4]