Charlie Smith

Smith played locally in New York in the late 1940s before taking a position accompanying Ella Fitzgerald. He worked briefly with the Duke Ellington's Orchestra in 1951 before being replaced by Louie Bellson, and also played with Joe Bushkin, Erroll Garner, Slim Gaillard, Benny Goodman, Hot Lips Page, Oscar Peterson, Artie Shaw, and Slam Stewart. He performed on television with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in 1952, and later in the 1950s worked with Billy Taylor, Aaron Bell, and Wild Bill Davison. He relocated to New Haven around 1960, where he played with Willie Ruff and Dwike Mitchell in a trio setting. He also worked as an educator late in life.
Smith co-wrote, with Thomas Vaughan, "A Jazz Liturgy" for Yale Divinity School. He died of a kidney infection.