Bob Smith

I was born in 1945 in Columbus, Ohio, the first child of a young pair of "Swing Kids". The radio and 78 rpm phonograph played big band instrumentals and vocals constantly. As an infant I was as familiar with Miller, Goodman, Shaw, Dorsey, Basie, Ellington and The Andrews Sisters as I was with our four room OSU campus area apartment.

At age 10 I rented a metal clarinet from a local shop and started the life- long addiction to music. At 12 I began lessons on the clarinet with David Hite. In high school at Columbus Linden-McKinley I joined the dance band by learning to play bari sax. Then I bought a Selmer Mark VI alto and fell in love. The dance band of 1961-62 attracted national attention and was invited those two years to the Stan Kenton National Stage Band Camps as a featured guest band. We enjoyed the thrills of being rehearsed by Stan Kenton, Buddy DeFranco, Buddy Morrow, John LaPorta, Don Jacoby, Buddy Baker and others. Kenton and DeFranco took us to Chicago's McCormick Place to perform for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Convention.

At the Ohio State University School of Music I majored in Music Education and Alto Sax was my major instrument. I added bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, tenor and bass saxes to my repertoire.

I taught instrumental music in southern and northwest Ohio and privately in Columbus and Toledo. I spent the majority of my working career in business sales, retiring in 2008.

Over the decades I have played in numerous big bands in Ohio and currently perform in Toledo's Swingmania All-Stars.

My wife Cathy and I are enjoying some serious travel in our retirement.

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