SMITH, HENRY (1904-1991). Henry (Buster) Smith, jazz^qv saxophone player, was born on August 24, 1904, in Alsdorf, Texas. His early musical influences were his mother (a church pianist) and his father (who played guitar). At age four, Buster was playing the organ with his brother, pianist Boston Smith; Buster played the keys and Boston stepped on the pedals. Soon thereafter, his grandfather gave away the family organ because he believed it would only direct Buster to a life of sin. By the time Buster Smith was eighteen, however, he had learned how to play organ, guitar, alto saxophone, and the clarinet. He bought his first clarinet in 1922 for $350, which he raised by picking more than 2,000 pounds of cotton in five days. At this time, his family moved to Dallas, where Buster soon supported them by playing music. He played alto saxophone and clarinet with the Voodie White Trio in Dallas. In 1923 he got a professional gig playing alto saxophone with the medicine shows; he had to play very loudly because that attracted more customers. His loudness later added to his style. Oran (Hot Lips) Page's Blue Devils asked Buster to play alto saxophone with them in 1925, and fame followed. He played with Page, Lester Young, Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, and Emir (Bucket) Coleman until 1933, when Page was replaced by Bennie Moten. They toured the Kansas City area and the Midwest, playing jazz for a year. Then the formation of the Buster Smith-Count Basie Band of Rhythm joined two of the jazz greats and originated a new technique of louder jazz. The sound came from Buster, who placed a heavier tenor saxophone reed in an alto saxophone to get a louder, fatter, sound. Tenor saxophonist Lester Young played in the band with a heavier baritone reed. This big sound was labeled the Texas Sax Sound. Buster Smith was a very influential member of the jazz and blues community, continuing the heritage based in Texas. He taught Charlie Parker saxophone during the 1930s, and they had a father-son relationship. He also aided an old friend from Dallas, Charles (Charlie) Christian,^qv who played in Benny Goodman's band. For an African-American in the 1930s, Buster Smith received incredible respect from all musicians. But by 1941 fame and touring were no longer his first priority. He returned to Dallas. Remaining active in the music scene, he wrote for jazz and blues bands, played often, and taught many young Texas musicians. Aaron (T-Bone) Walker^qv was one example. By 1959 Atlantic Records had convinced Buster to record his first session in Fort Worth. Some of the songs from the session were "Kansas City Riffs," Buster's Tune," "E Flat Boogie," and "September Song." Though it was his first 33 rpm record, he could be found on 78 rpm records from the Blue Devils, Pete Johnson's Boogie-Woogie Boys, Eddie Durham,^qv Snub Mosely, Bon and His Buddies, and the Don Redman Orchestra. An auto accident in the 1960s disabled him from ever playing saxophone again. He turned to bass guitar to keep current within the music business in Dallas, where his musical genius and influence was felt for years. Buster led a dance band until 1980. He died of a heart attack in Dallas on August 10, 1991.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: John Chilton, Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street (London: Bloomsbury Book Shop, 1970; American ed., New York and Philadelphia: Chilton, 1972; 4th ed., New York: Da Capo Press, 1985). Eileen Southern, Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1982).

Alan Lee Haworth