Betty Smith (6 July 1929 – 21 January 2011) was an English saxophonist and singer.
The presence of female instrumentalists in jazz ensembles is no longer a matter for comment, but half a century ago it was far less usual. This made the achievements of the tenor-saxophonist Betty Smith, who has died aged 81, all the more remarkable. Where the occasional female trumpeter or saxophonist might be spotted playing section parts in a big band, Smith was always a soloist, ready and willing to come out front. During the 1950s she shone, playing Dixieland with the Freddy Randall band. Then, with the Best of British Jazz all-star mainstream outfit, she carved out a vital role for herself as both instrumentalist and vocalist. She later fronted her own bands, touring widely until she was incapacitated by illness.
Smith was born on 6 July 1929 in Sileby, Leicestershire.She began studying the piano from the age of six and started to play the saxophone (purchased by her father Gerald) three years later. Smith's talent was noticed by a local village resident who paid for her education fees to allow her to attend the private Stoneygate School in Leicester. She performed in local clubs, and was reprimanded by her headmistress.Smith left school when she was 15, and at the prompting of her father, auditioned for the travelling all-female saxophone septet Archie's Juveniles. Following performances for troops in the Middle East in 1947 with the pianist Billy Penrose, which saw her tour bus attacked, she toured with an all-female band led by Rudy Starita and flew to Germany to perform for officials taking time off from the Nuremberg trials.
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During 1957 Randall became ill and disbanded the group, leaving Smith and Peberdy to form their own quintet which included the pianist Brian Lemon The couple worked with the television comic Tony Hancock and Smith enlivened him by performing Abide with Me out of tune.
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She found work into the summer seasons with visits to Guernsey and Cliftonville, and the band were residents on the SS Franconia. The band toured Australia and New Zealand, made regular broadcasts on television and radio, and she had her own programme on Radio Luxembourg. Smith played and sang with the Ted Heath Orchestra, and at this period of time, was now appearing in clubs and festivals in a solo capacity in Europe.
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From left, clarinet player Terry Lightfoot (1935-2013), saxophonist Betty Smith (1929-2011), trombonist George Chisholm (1915-1997) and pianist Dill Jones (1923-1984) pictured backstage at a jazz club in London in September 1960. |
Her high quality performances led her to working with the trumpet virtuoso Kenny Baker and the two worked alongside each other for the rest of her career. A sextet called "The Best of British Jazz" was formed in the 1970s when two former Ted Heath musicians, trombonist Don Lusher and drummer Jack Parnell joined her and Baker. The band recorded two albums, and Smith appeared with Eggy Ley's Hotshots in the 1980s and was seen performing at several jazz festivals.The band ceased playing in 1985 when Smith became ill and Peberdy cared for her with the two returning to Sileby in 1988. Smith had not recovered sufficiently when Baker reformed the band in 1992 but continued to play the piano the week before her death. Once billed as "the girl with sax appeal", she died in a nursing home in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire on 21 January 2011 at Baron Court's Nursing Home. Her funeral was held on 4 February at Loughborough Crematorium.
(Edited mainly from Wikipedia & The Guardian)
Here’s a clip taken from a television show “ Live at the New Orleans Jazzclub Scheveningen (The Hague) Netherlands” from 1973. Betty Smith with Ted Easton's Jazzband playing 'Sweet Geogia Brown'. Line up: Betty Smith ts, Bob Wulffers tpt, Henk van Muijen tbn, Hans Verheul cl, Frits Kaatee ts, Pim Hogervorst bjo, Jacques Kingma bass and Ted Easton dms.