Lavay Smith


Lavay Smith is an American singer specializing in blues, jazz, and swing. She tours with her eight-piece "little big band", Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers.

Biography

The fourth of five children, Lavay Smith was born in Long Beach, California. Her father was a jazz fan, and she grew up hearing Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Helen Humes, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington, though she listened to genres outside of jazz. When she was twelve, she moved with her family to the Philippines. In her teens she sang in a rock band in Manila, performing for members of the American military. The family moved back to California, where she attended high school. After moving to San Francisco, she sang in coffee houses, accompanying herself on guitar. She formed the Red Hot Skillet Lickers in 1989 with Chris Siebert, who was a member of the washboard-jazz band Bo Grumpus with guitarist Craig Ventresco. Smith combined "red hot" with Gid Tanner's 1920s country band, the Skillet Lickers. The band played rock and roll clubs, then became popular with the swing revival that started several years later. Their first album was released in 1996. The song "Everybody's Talkin' 'bout Miss Thang" peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard magazine Jazz chart in 2000.

Band

Since 1996 she has performed and toured with an eight-piece lineup of trumpet, trombone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Occasionally, Lavay expands the band to ten pieces by adding a second trumpet and a baritone. Lavay also performs with a sixteen-piece big band.

Members

The band consists of Bill Ortiz ; Mike Olmos ; Danny Armstrong ; Jules Broussard ; Charles McNeal ; Howard Wiley ; Robert Stewart ; Pete Cornell ; Chris Siebert, Charlie Siebert ; David Ewell ; Marcus Shelby ; and Darrell Green. Arrangements are written by Chris Siebert and David Berger.

Discography