Paul Alva Smoker (May 8, 1941 – May 14, 2016) was an American composer and jazz trumpeter.
[1] Smoker was born in Muncie, Indiana, grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and moved to Chicago to play professionally.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Smoker worked with musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Gregg Bendian, Damon Short, Randy McKean, and Phil Haynes.
His records issued on CIMP in the 1990s feature sidemen such as Vinny Golia, Ken Filiano, and Steve Salerno.
[2] Outside of jazz, Smoker was also involved in the performance of contemporary classical music, in his university capacities and with the SOMA ensemble.