Oral Histories

Interview of Fletcher Smith

Jazz piano player.
Subtitle:
Central Avenue Sounds: Fletcher Smith
Series:
Central Avenue Sounds Oral History Project
Topic:
African American History
Music
Biographical Note:
Jazz piano player.
Interviewer:
Isoardi, Steven L.
Interviewee:
Smith, Fletcher
Persons Present:
Smith and Isoardi.
Place Conducted:
Smith's home and office in Compton, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Steven L. Isoardi, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Government, University of San Francisco; M.A., Political Science, UCLA; Ph.D., Political Science, UCLA.Isoardi prepared for the interview by consulting jazz histories, autobiographies, oral histories, relevant jazz periodicals, documentary films, and back issues of the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel.
Processing of Interview:
Alex Cline, editor, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names.Whenever possible, Cline checked the proper names of nightclubs against articles and advertisements in back issues of the California Eagle. Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed.Smith died before he was able to review the draft transcript.Betsy A. Ryan, editor, prepared the table of contents. Cline assembled the biographical summary, and Isoardi prepared the interview history. Lisa Magee, editorial assistant, compiled the index.
Length:
2.45 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
Interviews in this series preserve the spoken memories of individuals, mainly musicians, who were raised near and/or performed on Los Angeles's Central Avenue from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s.