Louis Smith (musician) public school system. He later recorded for the SteepleChase label. Smith suffered a stroke in 2006, and was seen occasionally enjoying live jazz in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area, but did not return to performing. His cousin Booker Little was also a trumpeter. Smith died on August 20, 2016, at age 85. With Kenny Burrell With Horace Silver With Booker Little and Young Men From Memphis Louis Smith (musician) After graduating from Tennessee State University he attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. While studying at the University of Michigan, he played with visiting musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles
Billy Root (musician) Billy Root (musician) William "Billy" Root (born March 6, 1934, Philadelphia) is an American jazz saxophonist. Root was raised in a musical family; his father played drums in Philadelphia ensembles. Root began playing professionally in the early 1950s, with Roy Eldridge, Hal McIntyre, Red Rodney, Bennie Green, and Buddy Rich. Later in the decade he worked extensively with Stan Kenton and with Rodney, as well as with Clifford Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, and Curtis Fuller. He led his own ensembles from the late 1950s. In the 1960s he performed with Al Grey and Dakota Staton, and in