Tribute And Benefit Show To Honor Ailing Jazz Trumpeter Louis Smith

Tribute and benefit show to honor ailing jazz trumpeter Louis Smith

ON THE BILL: JAZZ & BLUES

BY ROGER LELIEVRE

News Arts Writer

Louis Smith, well-known Ann Arbor jazz trumpeter and retired Ann Arbor Public Schools music teacher, suffered a stoke on Dec. 5. He’s now undergoing rehabilitation and will be honored with a tribute and benefit show Jan. 28 at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit.

According to his wife, Lulu Smith, her husband is “coming along. It was a pretty big stroke. ... He is definitely doing better -

A tribute and benefit show will honor Ann Arbor jazz trumpeter Louis Smith, who suffered a stroke in December.

he can now stand for a short period of time and he can take a few steps with assistance.” He is still unable to speak.

She said Smith, 74, fell ill while the couple was vacationing in Hilton Head, S.C. He was flown back to Ann Arbor by medevac and is now at the Glacier Hills Rehabilitation Center.

“He’s very frustrated. He’s usually very verbose and jovial ... it’s very hard on him. I figure he’s going to need a lot of rehab - inpatient and outpatient,” Lulu Smith said.

She encouraged well-wishers to send get-well cards to Louis Smith, Room 256, Glacier Hills, 1200 Earhart Road, Ann Arbor MI 48105.

Smith had previously been scheduled to play at Baker’s on Jan. 28. His wife said funds raised at the show, expected to feature Smith’s usual trio members -pianist Tad Weed and drummer Sean Dobbins - will go to defray the $7,000 in costs incurred flying her husband back to Ann Arbor. “Even though we have medical insurance, that had to be paid for out of our own pocket,” she said.

Smith, who retired from the Ann Arbor Public Schools in 1993, also taught jazz band at the University of Michigan and played over the years with jazz greats, including Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie and the Oscar Peterson Trio, among others.

Baker’s is located at 20510 Livernois Ave., Detroit. Admission to the show is $10. For more information, call (313) 345-6300.

E.S.T. at The Ark

E.S.T., more completely known as the Esbjorn Svensson Trio, playing at The Ark Thursday night, is a Swedish jazz threesome of a different kind. Combining jazz with drum ’n’ bass, electronic elements, funk rhythm and pop and rock as well as European classical music, E.S.T. has built a following that includes classic jazz fans and hip-hop enthusiasts. For more information, call (734) 761-1451.

Action at Kerrytown

Grammy Award nominee, jazz singer and pianist Andy Bey will check in at the Kerrytown Concert House for two shows Saturday night, accompanied by Paul Meyer on guitar.

Coming up at KCH next month: jazz pianist George Cables on Feb. 10; boogie-woogie piano man Mr. B’s Annual Birthday Bounce Feb. 18 (two shows); and the Cuong Vu Trio Feb. 20. The latter group has been described as a jazz version of a rock power trio. For reservations, or other details about Kerrytown shows, call (734) 769-2999.

New Orleans benefit

The Hot 8 Brass Band will play a “Save Our Brass” benefit aimed at preserving and continuing the musical and cultural heritage of New Orleans Jan. 27 at the Michigan Theater.

This young band out of New Orleans follows in the footsteps of groups such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth Brass Band. Proceeds will

go to the Jazz Foundation of America. Opening the show will be the University of Michigan student groups Spoken Word (Walter Lacey and Ayodele Alii), Dance 2 XS (hip-hop dance) and Corn Rows (jazz/modern dance). For more information, call (734) 764-5123.

Firefly plans

Coming up in February at the Firefly Club: Feb. 3, the ’Fly will celebrate the Super Bowl with Lady Sunshine; on Feb. 10, the Sean Dobbins Trio will be doing a recording session; Feb. 18 is Community High School jazz night; Feb. 25 will mark another reunion of Ann Arbor talents Mr. B, Steve Nardella and George Bedard. To find out more, call (734) 665-9090.

"On the Bill: Blues and Jazz" runs the third Sunday of the month. Roger LeLievre can be reached at (734) 994-6848 or by e-mail at rlelievre@annarbornews.com.