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 Geoffrey Smith 'I love going through the letters with the production team, receiving the discs from the BBC Gramophone Library and building shows... I always try to convey the energy and spontaneity that's so vital to jazz, the sense of discovery I knew in my days as a drummer with groups ranging from Dixieland to big bands to a very free New York quartet.' Geoffrey Smith was born in Michigan, USA in 1943. Geoffrey grew up to the diverse sounds of Schubert, jazz and Gilbert & Sullivan. He became a musician, concentrating on percussion and playing in jazz groups of every style from Dixieland to avant-garde, before the rise of rock discouraged him in 1969. At the same time he was pursuing an academic career in literature, and came to Britain to finish a Ph.D in 1973. Deciding he wanted to remain here, Geoffrey began earning his living as a freelance writer and lecturer, contributing articles and reviews to a variety of journals, including Country Life, New Society and The Spectator. His first book, published in 1983, was a survey of The Savoy Opera; a biography, Stéphane Grappelli, followed in 1987. In 1988 he turned the Grappelli volume into a series for BBC Radio 3, the first of many broadcasts for the BBC. In 1991, on the death of Peter Clayton, he became the regular presenter of Jazz Record Requests, where he still happily continues. His musical interests are wide-ranging: he writes on classical music for Country Life, on music and the arts generally for The Economist, and contributes a monthly Jazz Starter column to BBC Music Magazine. He lives in West London with his English wife and Anglo-American son. Watch the 'Meet Geoffrey Smith' video |
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