Derek Smith

Born in London, England, on August 17, 1931, Derek Smith gained acclaim as a jazz pianist valued for both versatility and elegance. He took up the piano during early childhood and turned professional at the age of 14. By the early 1950s he had become a fixture on the U.K. jazz circuit, appearing regularly alongside Kenny Graham, John Dankworth, and Kenny Baker. Relocating to New York City in the mid-1950s, he secured steady employment as a session musician for studio orchestras and assorted recording ensembles while continuing to explore jazz in the company of Benny Goodman and Connie Kay. For years afterward he alternated between studio obligations and live jazz performances, adding piano duties in Doc Severinsen's Tonight Show Orchestra near the end of the 1960s. The 1970s brought frequent reunions with Goodman, and in 1978 Smith made his first recording as a leader, Love for Sale. The Man I Love appeared later that same year. In the ensuing decades his profile on the jazz scene rose markedly through solo appearances as well as steady trio work with Milt Hinton and Bobby Rosengarden.