On Friday evening, October 15, 1993, the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) holds a grand opening for a photo exhibit celebrating the life work of Al Smith. Titled Jazz on the Spot: Photographs by Al Smith, the exhibit is the first major show to spotlight the work of a native son who over six decades of activity became Seattle's preeminent early African American photographer. Albert Joseph Septimus "Al" Smith Sr. (1916-2008) began shooting pictures as a young man in the 1930s and, although he never made photography his career, as a dedicated and talented enthusiast he managed to capture thousands of images that evoke many otherwise under-documented aspects of mid-century life in the then-largely-black neighborhoods of Seattle's Central Area. The exhibit will remain on display into 1996.
The Friday evening grand opening was held in the Thomas McCurdy Gallery at MOHAI's longtime Montlake location (2700 24th Avenue E). Jazz on the Spot was co-curated by longtime MOHAI photography curator Howard Giske and Seattle jazz historian Paul de Barros. For those who missed the smaller Smith exhibit that MOHAI had mounted back in 1987 it served as an introduction to Smith and his artistry.
One of the most historically significant categories of images that Smith captured over the decades consisted of exciting shots from many of the long-gone nightclubs of Seattle's old Jackson Street jazz scene of the 1930s through the 1950s. This was an era of racial segregation when Seattle had two separate and distinct musicians' unions: American Federation of Musicians Local 76 for the white players and AFM Local 493 for the blacks. Although the unions finally merged in 1958, the memories of days gone by were definitely conjured by the "Seattle Jazz Homecoming" portion of the night: A specially organized ensemble, the 493 Reunion Band, comprised of aging players who traced their musical beginnings back to those times, performed a set of appropriately vintage jazz tunes for the assembled crowd.
In addition, Paul de Barros used the night as the book-release party for Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle, his definitive telling of the Northwest's regional jazz history -- and a work that used several of Smith's photos. The event began with MOHAI's Executive Director, Wilson O'Donnell, who provided an introductory welcome, and then de Barros gave an appreciative speech that honored Smith and the many jazz veterans and fans from the community who were in attendance. The evening was also memorable as Smith -- at 77 still the shutterbug, and even while being honored for his achievements -- was actively roaming the gallery, camera in hand, taking pictures of the crowds of attendees.
