Crishton Smith

This is the one Willie "the Lion" Smith CD to get. The bulk of the release features Smith on 14 piano solos from January 10, 1939, performing six standards and eight of his finest compositions. Although Smith (with his derby hat and cigar) could look quite tough, he was actually a sensitive player whose chord structures were very original and impressionistic. On such numbers as "Echoes of Spring" (his most famous work), "Passionette," "Rippling Waters," and "Morning Air," Smith was at his most expressive. In addition, this CD has a couple of collaborations with fellow pianists Joe Bushkin and Jess Stacy and a four-song 1940 swing/Dixieland 1940 session with an octet featuring trumpeter Sidney DeParis. Because of the classic piano solos, this memorable set is quite essential.

Multi-award-winning guitarist Johan Smith has considerably extended his instrument’s repertoire with this selection of transcriptions celebrating childhood in a variety of ways. These popular piano works – Schubert’s Erlkönig, Granados’s atmospheric Tales of Youth, Mozart’s elegant Sonata facile, Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood and the exquisitely sensitive and insightful miniatures of Debussy’s Children’s Corner – are presented in a totally natural and idiomatic manner within the guitar’s distinctly expressive soundworld.

Rex Smith, younger brother of Starz vocalist Michael Lee Smith, may be better known to his Stateside fans for his roles on stage and screen; playing motorcycle police officer Jesse Mach in the 1985 TV series Street Hawk, as well as guest appearances on The Love Boat, Baywatch, Daredevil and Caroline In The City. He also played Danny Zuko in the 1978 Broadway production of Grease, eventually becoming a household name via the popular daytime drama As The World Turns, whilst also replacing Andy Gibb as presenter on popular US TV music show Solid Gold in 1982.

Rex Smith, younger brother of Starz vocalist Michael Lee Smith, may be better known to his Stateside fans for his roles on stage and screen; playing motorcycle police officer Jesse Mach in the 1985 TV series Street Hawk, as well as guest appearances on The Love Boat, Baywatch, Daredevil and Caroline In The City. He also played Danny Zuko in the 1978 Broadway production of Grease, eventually becoming a household name via the popular daytime drama As The World Turns, whilst also replacing Andy Gibb as presenter on popular US TV music show Solid Gold in 1982.