Russell Smith (trumpeter)

Russell Taylor "Pops" Smith (February 5, 1890 – March 27, 1966)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the brother of Joe Smith.

He was born in Ripley, Ohio, United States.[1] Smith learned alto horn as a child, and switched to trumpet when he was fourteen years old. He played in local bands as a teenager and relocated to New York City in 1910.[1] By 1915, he was playing in London with Joe Jordan's orchestra.[2] In the late 1910s and early 1920s he found work playing stage revues and in military bands. He became a member of Fletcher Henderson's band in 1925, remaining with Henderson intermittently until 1941;[1] during that time he also played in the Blackbirds of 1928 revue and, in the mid-1930s, with Horace Henderson, Benny Carter, and Claude Hopkins.[2] From 1941 to 1946 he played in Cab Calloway's group, then worked with Noble Sissle toward the end of the 1940s.[1] He moved to California in the 1950s, where he lived the rest of his life;[1] he was less active as a performer, but occasionally taught music.

He died in March 1966 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 76.[1]