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Will Smith
Sr. Joins Forces with
Local Jazzman Alfie Pollitt
By
Yanina Carter (Entertainment Editor, Philadephia New Observer)
Five years ago, Will Smith Sr., yes, father to Philly’s
own Will Smith, rapper/actor, would never have imagined he
would be producing music, hitting the radio stations to set
up interviews for his artist or better yet, being interviewed
himself. Well, he is!
Smith, Sr., along with Philly jazz artist, Alfie Pollitt,
put years of experience and knowledge of Philly into musical
tunes on Philly Through My Ear Production, a newly created
record label.
It was Smith Sr.’s love for music that drew him to
the sensational sounds of Pollitt. Born and raised in North
Philadelphia, Smith Sr. made a name for himself as the Ice
Man in the Wynnefield section of the city. After 35 years
of manufacturing and distributing ice in the Philadelphia
area, Smith plunges into the music business by establishing
Philly Through My Ear Production, Inc., (PTME).
The first CD, titled, “Alfie” is a collection
of 10 originals and never before recorded jazz compositions
by Philly’s own inspiring pianist Alfie Pollitt. Hearing
him perform and heightened by Smith’s appreciation for
jazz, motivated him to create a vehicle to share Alfie’s
music and the unique sound of Philadelphia jazz with the rest
of the world.
“I started taking piano lessons when I was three,”
said Alfie, who attended school in the Lower Merion area,
outside of Philadelphia. “I have been playing as long
as I can remember.
Better known in the music world as “Alfie,” this
distinctive musician has been a mainstay in the Jazz and R&B
scene in Philadelphia for over 30 years. Classically trained,
Pollitt had the benefit of musically accomplished parents
and many relatives who encouraged his love of the arts. Along
with his teachers, Pollitt credits McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane
as artists who have helped shape his distinctive and evocative
playing style. This style has finally been placed on a disc
to be enjoyed by many.
“Over the past 40 years, I have played with Billy
Paul, Norman Connors, The Four Tops, Johnny Hartman and Barbara
Mason.” Alfie also played on a record with Philadelphia’s
Teddy Pendergrass that went platinum. He has performed at
some of the most notable historic spots in the city such as:
The Uptown Theater, with the Futures and Barbara Mason, The
Latin Casino, Club Harlem, The Shubert Theater and Academy
of Music. But his experience is not limited to Philadelphia.
He has performed all over the USA. Pollitt has graced stages
in Trinidad, Brazil, Jamaica, Canada and England.
It was at Smith Sr.’s 50th Birthday celebration when
they met. “My cousin, Donald Welch, the playwright,
gave me a surprise 50th birthday party at the Ethnical Society
and he had Alfie play for me,” said Smith. “Donald
and I were close. I got him on Fresh Prince and I was working
with him in a play, Smith explained. “I was doing refrigeration
for 30 years, and at that time, I thought I had lost a lot
of my communications skills. I went to Donald because that
was his area of expertise. Working in the factory setting,
you were alone a lot of the time. I also installed equipment
in supermarkets, bakeries and deli’s; and when you are
doing that kind of work, you are alone 90 percent of the time.
You come home, you talk to the kids and to the wife, and that’s
it. So I went to Donald and told him I needed some help in
communicating with people.” He said, “Okay, why
don’t you do a couple of plays.”
Smith, Sr. played a Reverend in “A Change Is Gonna
Come,” and a patron in another play. “But the
greatest thing that happened with Donald was I became friends
with Lawannda Page, aka Aunt Esther. We were very close,”
he continued. “But under Donald’s tutelage I was
able to face the microphones and cameras, which is something
I could not do before. Five years ago, I would not be able
to do an interview like this. So it helped.
Now with the new record company, acting is something he is
not considering. His primary focus is his new company. “I
remember when I was 14 or 15 years old, my best friend’s
mom, Vivian Gamble, loved John Coltrane and all the great
jazz artists and she cultivated the great love for jazz in
me,” Smith Sr. recalled. “I always had some involvement
with music, whether it was piano lessons or guitar lessons
in singing, or the glee club in school, but she cultivated
the love of jazz in me.”
He continued, “It wasn’t until I retired that
I got closer to Alfie and we started to talk about music technically.”
Looking at structure, theory, and technology, “we have
been working together going to shows and then it popped into
my head, why don’t we do a CD,” said Smith Sr.
After years of performing in the music circuit, a collection
of original tunes by Alfie are available for the first time
ever. Titled “Alfie,” the CD features such tunes
with historical titles about Philly. A lot of the pieces are
inspired by the Philadelphia environment, “Alfie explained.
The piece titled, “15th Street,” is a tune that
dates you back to the early 60s when 15th Street was a real
hip street.
“There were a lot of hip-slick clothing stores where
folks like Miles Davis or John Coltrane would shop. ‘Lord
of the Shuffleboard’ was written for my grandfather,
who played shuffleboard. He was also a musician and one of
my influences. ‘Momma Mae’ is a piece I wrote
for my mother. ‘Spanky Wanky’ is dedicated to
Spanky Debrest, who was from Philly and who recorded with
Art Blakey. ‘The Divine Light’ was inspired by
the works of Father Divine.”
When asked what type of support he was receiving from his
son Will, Jr., Will Sr. answered, “This is my independent
project; however, I am a dependent. My son takes very good
care of me. He supports me personally but has no connection
to this project,” Smith Sr. explained.
Accompanying Alfie on the CD are Mike Boone, of Bronx, NY
and Eddie Jones of Philly. Mike has made Philadelphia his
home since 1982. Influenced by his uncle, Rudy White, Duke
Ellington’s last drummer, Mike has toured with dancer/actor
Ben Vereen and worked with the late Philadelphia jazz great,
Shirley Scott. This exceptional bassist, writer and arranger
has also taught at the Mt. Airy Cultural Center in the Philadelphia
Public School System.
Eddie Jones, a Philadelphia native, picked up his first pair
of drumsticks at the tender age of five. Coming from a musical
background that encourages his creative endeavors, he went
on to develop his style in Swing and Jazz. Eddie has played
with such notables as Sun Ra, Nina Simone, and Billy Paul.
When not performing, he enjoys devoting his time to the Maplewood
Music School in Philadelphia and The Christian Cultural Center
in Wilmington, DE.
For more information about Will Smith Sr. and Alfie, go to
www.phillythroughmyear.com.
Philadelphia New Observer, May 14, 2003
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