Russell Smith (trumpeter)

Smith was born in Ripley, Ohio.[1] Smith learned alto horn as a child, and switched to trumpet when he was fourteen years old. He played in local bands as a teenager and relocated to New York City in 1910.[1]

By 1915, Smith was playing in London with Joe Jordan's orchestra.[2] In the late 1910s and early 1920s he found work playing stage revues and in military bands. He became a member of Fletcher Henderson's band in 1925, remaining with Henderson intermittently until 1941.[1] During that time, he also played in the Blackbirds of 1928 revue and, in the mid-1930s, with Horace Henderson, Benny Carter, and Claude Hopkins.[2] From 1941 to 1946, he played in Cab Calloway's group, then worked with Noble Sissle toward the end of the 1940s.[1] He moved to California in the 1950s, where he lived the rest of his life.[1] He was less active as a performer, but occasionally taught music.

Smith was the brother of Joe Smith. He died in March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 76.[1]

• "Russell Smith". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.