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Jimmy Smith hates Des Moines

Filed under: Imported

I suppose that should actually be "Jimmy Smith hated Des Moines," since he passed away on Tuesday. Anyway, Jimmy's appearance at a free concert in my home town several years ago resulted in one of the craziest radio broadcasts ever aired there or anyplace else. Here's what I recall:

Never a city bursting with good music, over the past few years the concerts at an old but renovated theater called Hoyt Sherman Place have provided much-needed high-quality entertainment for those of us stuck in the place the locals call Dead Moines. (Alas, this seems to be no more: a quick perusal of the theater's webpage touts upcoming "talent" like Cokie Roberts and Suze Orman, with not a single good musical act in sight.) One season in particular-- I believe it was 1999-2000-- the fare was outstanding, and the shows did so well that the final concert of the season, starring Mr. Smith, was changed to a free show for everyone, with the city actually picking up the tab.

Apparently, when he learned of this, Jimmy wasn't pleased. Stories were already going around that he wasn't the most agreeable guy on the concert circuit anyway, which was clear in a pre-concert interview he gave to Des Moines mayor Preston Daniels, printed in the town's weekly paper Cityview. Daniels, a big jazz fan and record collector, wanted to talk music, while Jimmy seemed only to want to zing Daniels for "talking white." (Daniels was DSM's first black mayor.) A glutton for punishment, Daniels introduced Smith on stage by offering him a key to the city. Jimmy's response: "Shit, man, I don't want no fuckin' key to the city. I only came here for your wife."

From then on, every intro Smith gave was peppered with "shit" and "fuck," and all of it broadcast live and uncensored on the city's very staid NPR affiliate. (Today, the FCC would probably sock the station about $20 million in fines.) Musically, of course, he cooked, thanks in no small part to guitarist and Smith protegee Phil Upchurch (who, local rumor had it, was being paid half of Smith's $8,000 fee-- if so, he deserved it), but as the performance went on, Jimmy got even stranger. Finally, he seemed to start talking in tongues, like someone had just given him an extra-large sack of snakes to fondle.

And then it was over-- 45 minutes and Smith was done. The audience, not believing he was actually finished, started calling "More!" After a few minutes, Jimmy came back on stage and said, "More? What the fuck do you assholes mean, more? Shit, y'all got in for fuckin' free!" Then he stormed off, leaving the poor public-radio host to say something like, "Well, uh . . . it looks like the show is really over. Maybe it's just as well."

Needless to say, Jimmy Smith wasn't invited back to Des Moines, or if he was, he turned the invitation down. And to the best of my knowledge, that radio station never broadcast another live jazz show again.

Posted by Steve Monaco at February 11, 2005 4:17 AM

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