Smith, Tab (Talmadge)

Smith, Tab (Talmadge), jazz/R&B alto, soprano, tenor, and C-melody saxophonist; b. Kinston, N.C., Jan. 11, 1909; d. St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 17, 1971. His mother and four sisters were all pianists. Smith started on piano, then played C-melody sax before specializing on alto. He played with Ike Dixon’s Band in Baltimore and with the Carolina Stompers before joining Eddie Johnson’s Crackerjacks (1931–33). After playing on the riverboats with Fate Marable, he rejoined Eddie Johnson. He joined Lucky Millinder in June 1936, and left him in 1938 to join Frankie Newton; Smith played tenor sax with Newton in 1939. After brief stints on tenor with the Teddy Wilson Big Band (spring 1940), and Count Basie, he joined Eddie Durham in August 1940, only to rejoin Lucky Millinder a month later. From December 1940 until spring 1942, he worked with Count Basie, then returned to Lucky Millinder until spring 1944. He formed his own band, which he continued to lead through the 1940s, and which sometimes included singer Wynonie Harris. In 1951, Smith moved back to St. Louis to devote time to his business interests; he also led his band for a residency at a local club. As a result of several best-selling singles, he resumed full- time music in early 1952 and continued leading small groups for several years. During the 1950s, Smith cut many songs for tiny independent labels that were huge R&B hits in the black community and on jukeboxes. In the 1960s, he returned to St. Louis, worked in real estate, played gigs, and taught music. In the last years of his life, he played organ at a steak house in East St. Louis.

Discography

Joy at the Savoy (1944); Music Styled by T. S. (1951); Jump Time (1951); Bemuse of You (1951); Ace High (1952).

—John Chilton , Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter