Jazz Journalists Association honours Bill Smith at jazz fest opening gala
Posted on | June 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
by Brian Nation
On behalf of the Jazz Journalists Association, the Vancouver Jazz Festival’s artistic director, Ken Pickering, presented Bill Smith with the JJA’s “A Team” Award for lifetime achievement at the jazz fest’s opening gala at the Vancouver Art Gallery last night.
Almost from the day he arrived in Toronto in 1963 from his birthplace in Bristol, England at age 26, Bill Smith has been one of Canada’s most powerful and intelligent forces for the advancement of jazz and improvised music here and around the world — as a musician, journalist, photographer, record producer, film producer, record store owner, and more. Teamed up with John Norris, who had founded CODA Magazine just a few years earlier, and in whose honour he shares the award, Smith was art director and, later, an editor of CODA. He co-founded the Jazz & Blues Record Centre in Toronto, wrote perceptive and illuminating essays about, and conducted interviews with, many of the luminaries of jazz and improvised music of the second half of the twentieth century. Steve Lacy remarked that Smith’s interview with Cecil Taylor, published in CODA, was the best interview with a jazz musician he’d ever read. Smith also produced a book of his photos of musicians, “Imagine the Sound” and a film documentary by the same name. As a soprano saxophonist and drummer, Smith has performed and recorded with Michael Snow, Leo Smith, Evan Parker, Vinny Golia, and many others.
Bill’s been contributing timeless reviews, interviews, and articles from his archive to this site.
See: http://vancouverjazz.com/billsmith and http://vancouverjazz.com/bsmith
Smith moved to British Columbia about twenty years ago and is a resident of the Gulf Islands.
I “interviewed” Bill before the ceremony last night:
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2 Responses to “Jazz Journalists Association honours Bill Smith at jazz fest opening gala”
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June 26th, 2010 @ 10:43 am
I don’t know of anyone who has done more for Jazz in Canada. Not only through his more visible work like The Jazz & Blues Centre in Toronto, the Imagine the Sounds series (not only the film but the art series and book – featuring Bill’s own classic photographs), Coda, Sackville Records, his own concert promotions in Toronto (some of my early jazz experiences were at the A-Space series and an infamous Cecil Taylor solo concert at the New York Theatre), as an improvising performer … the list goes on. But also as someone who knows everybody and makes connections, Ken Pickering will be the first to say that Bill opened a lot of doors for Ken in the early years of the Vancouver festival – and Ken wasn’t the only one.
I first met Bill (and John Norris his co-recipient for the award) when I was working with the fledgling London Jazz Society at the University of Western Ontario back in the mid-70s. Bill and John drove up the 401 numerous times to give “Lectures with Musical Examples” (my first exposure to The Brotherhood of Breath and Such Sweet Thunder!) and to bring his rare jazz film collection (in a raging snowstorm) for screenings in the days long before youtube.
I can only imagine how many other journeys he made that were similar to inspire other pockets of musical fanatics everywhere!
Bill, I can fairly say that your passion for the music changed my life and many others, congratulations for this most deserving award!
N.
November 7th, 2011 @ 11:40 am
Congratulations Bill.I even recognize you without your beard,you look great,life must be treating you well.Vancouver is lucky to have such a committed patron of the arts in it’s area.Toronto’s loss…I still carry with me the many Saturdays I spend in the jazz and blues shop,whether is was on Young St. north or south,or Dundas St.the fun of picking through all the records hoping to find a gem.I found many because of your guidance,those were great Saturdays and I miss them and I still feel the loss of what I thought could have been the best jazz club in Toronto had it gotten a better start,I’m referring to the Sandpiper….It’s really nice to see you getting recognized for your “work”,passion.