Pan Player, Arranger, Composer
Rudy Smith at age nine was already on the road with the steelband Red Army; and later went to Merrymakers.
On explaining why the name “Two Left”, Rudy stated that he was left-handed but played with both hands. "My hands moved so fast, they couldn't differentiate, so I became “Two Left” ".
Rudy spent his early years of school at Richmond Street Boys. He lived for a time at Methuen, Alberto and then Charles Streets, Woodbrook. This placed him in a unique position; right in the heart of the development of pan in the 1950s.
In 1962, Merrymakers decided to go on a tour and he was selected to go through [on] the insistence of one Myers from Pandigenous.
The tour went to Europe to Africa and then to the Middle East. By 1965, through the encouragement of saxophonist Lincoln Grant, he took up jazz and never looked back.
Rudy has travelled the world over and has performed with the likes of Quincy Jones [and] Keith Jarrette, to name a few.
Rudy has represented Scandanavia at Festival 1977 in Nigeria and he participated in the World Music meeting.
Rudy has not only concentrated on his work abroad. In 1992, he arranged One for the Road, a Baron composition, for Kalomo Kings. He has also teamed up with ace Guitarist Robert Monroe at the second Pan Jazz Festival.
Rudy Smith, an international artist of the finest order, but a pannist of yesterday and today.
© 1997 Gideon Maxime: Pg 219; PAN THROUGH THE YEARS (1952 - 1996)[This reference is a matter of research for these pages]
