Collection of Ten Pieces of Original Sheet Music by Stride Piano Great Willie “The Lion” Smith, 1937-1949

New York City: Edwards Music Co. and others, 1949. Ten pieces of sheet music (see full inventory below). Overall Near Fine.. A representative group of sheet music publications by Willie “The Lion” Smith, one of the defining architects of Harlem stride piano and a central transitional figure between ragtime-era keyboard traditions and modern jazz performance. Active in New York during the formative decades of twentieth-century jazz, Smith developed a powerful pianistic approach combining rhythmic authority, harmonic sophistication, and improvisational independence, becoming widely regarded as a “musician’s musician” and an influential mentor to figures including Duke Ellington.[1]

Emerging from the uptown New York scene shaped by pianists such as James P. Johnson and Luckey Roberts, Smith helped define the stride style that grew from ragtime into a more expansive jazz idiom, frequently performing at Harlem rent parties and participating in competitive “cutting contests” that tested virtuosity and improvisational skill. Smith also published sheet music, producing piano solos, novelty songs, and popular compositions. Offered here are ten pieces reflecting the breadth of his printed output, including collaborative songs, and published folios issued by firms such as Leo Feist, Edwards Music Co., Mills Music, and Joe Davis. In his 1964 memoir, Smith recalled hearing in everyday life “another weird but musical sound… that I can still hear in my head.”[2]

Uncommon on the market, we find only four first edition copies of Smith sheets available at the time of writing, with most of these not available.

Titles include:

“Between Sharps and Flats (An Unusual Piano Solo)”. Willie (Lion) Smith. New York: Edwards Music Co, New York, 1949. 5 pp. Fine condition.

“Curfew Time in Harlem (Novelty Song)”. Willie (The Lion) Smith and Neil Laurence. New York: Joe Davis, Inc, New York, 1938. 3 pp. Near fine with minimal wear.

“Echo of Spring”. Willie (The Lion) Smith. New York: Leo Feist, Inc, New York, 1946. 6 pp. Fine condition.

“How Could You Put Me Down?” Willie (The Lion) Smith with James P. Johnson and Mitchell Parish. New York: Mills Music, Inc, 1945. 5 pp. Fine condition.

“Karnival on the Keys (A Modern Piano Fantasy)”. Willie (Lion) Smith. New York: Edwards Music Co, New York, 1945. 5 pp. Fine condition.

“Let’s Go Joe”. Cab Calloway, Willie (Lion) Smith, and Jack Palmer. New York: Rytvoc, Inc, 1942. 3 pp. Fine condition.

“Let’s Mop It (Mop! Mop!)”. Jack Edwards, Fred Norman, and Willie (Lion) Smith. New York: Edwards Music Co, 1942. 3 pp. Fine condition.

“Modern Piano Solos” (folio). Willie (The Lion) Smith. New York: Leo Feist, Inc, 1939. 26 pp. Very good plus with a small chip to front wrap.

“Rippling Waters”. Willie (The Lion) Smith. New York: Leo Feist, Inc, New York, 1939. 5 pp. Fine condition.

“Sneak Away (Piano Solo)”. Willie (The Lion) Smith. New York: Mills Music, Inc, 1937. 5 pp. Fine condition.

[1] “Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith: Stride Piano Master,” NPR’s ‘Jazz Profiles’, June 11, 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/06/11/91365108/willie-the-lion-smith-stride-piano-master.
[2] Willie Smith, Music on My Mind: The Memoirs of an American Pianist (Doubleday: 1964).