Tom and Matt Smith
Encyclopedia
Tom and Matt Smith are father and son jazz
musicians best known for their work in the United States, Eastern Europe and China.
Tom Smith (father) is a long time American university professor and multiple Senior Fulbright Professor of Music at the Romanian National University of Music, the University of Bucharest
, the University of KwaZulu-Natal
Jazz Center, in Durban, South Africa and the University of Arts, in Belgrade, Serbia. He was introduced to fine arts at an early age by his father, a noted trombonist and painter, best known for his work with New Orleans traditional jazz artist Murphy Campo. Tom Smith
was the longest continuous member of the North Carolina Artist-in-Residence Program (1984–1992). It was during this time that he founded some of the most critically acclaimed community and regional jazz ensembles in America, while performing for over two-million people. His best known group was the Unifour Jazz Ensemble, an eighteen-piece big band that placed seventh in the 1988 Down Beat
Readers Poll. In that same poll, Smith placed fifth in the trombone category. As an improvising soloist, he has performed and toured with Louie Bellson
, Clark Terry
, McCoy Tyner
, Joe Henderson
, Chris Potter
, the New York Voices, Nicholas Payton
, Herb Ellis
, Donald Byrd
, Darius Brubeck and the Manhattan Transfer
. Smith is also a noted music historian and researcher. In 2001 he and his research partner Gary Westbrook received international recognition for identifying the musical fingerprint for identification of unknown personnel on early recordings. Since 2002, his work in Romania has drawn wide attention in the field of jazz education. Called by a former Fulbright Executive Director the premminent Fulbright Scholar in Romanian history, Smith is the only foreigner to have been awarded The Romanian National Radio Prize (Romania's highest musical honor). Most recently, he founded and coordinated the Romanian Jazz Education Seminar, the first summer music camp staged in Romania, and helped found the first western styled jazz music college in that country. In 2008, Smith was the recipient of the International Association for Jazz Education Jazz Ambassador Award, in special ceremonies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, having already been awarded Outstanding Service to Jazz Education honors in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. In 2009, Tom received his seventh Fulbright Award (a record for musician professors) and accepted residency at the Serbia Academy of Music (University of Arts) drafting the curriculum for their jazz program. Later, he accepted guest jazz studies appointments in Budva, Montenegro. In 2010 Tom and his wife Sarah relocated again to Northeast China to implement a new series of programs and initiatives. In 2011 he was appointed a professor of music at Ningbo University (Zhejiang Province, China) assigned to establish the first academic jazz program on the Chinese mainland and serve as editor in chief of China's first English language journal of musicology.
Matt Smith (son) is an award winning teenage jazz percussionist and hip hop mixologist, considered among the fastest drummers in the world. In 2006, he became (at age 16) the youngest ever WFD World's Fastest Drummer Extreme Sport Drumming
World Champion. He has held a number of speed drumming world records, including the record for high speed endurance (5132 single strokes in five consecutive minutes),and is currently the #1 ranked traditional grip
speed drummer of all time, defeating Mike Mangini
with a score of 1132 single strokes in one minute on June, 2008. He was introduced to drums at age 9 when Louie Bellson
(one of his father's performing acquaintances) gave him his first pair of drumsticks. His official debut occurred at age 12, when he performed for a jazz combo on Romanian National Television. At age 14, he recorded a debut album under his own name featuring an all star Eastern European lineup. In 2008, he was ranked third in the Rising New Star category of the Drum Magazine Reader's Poll. After receiving a performance diploma from the Atlanta Institute of Music in 2009, Matt relocated to Bucharest, Romania and performed with numerous jazz and pop ensembles throughout the world. In 2010 he signed on with the Adrian Klein Agency where he began production of nu jazz recordings, and performed with a diverse lineup of artists that included jazz pianist Darius Brubeck and Linkin Park singer Mike Shinoda. In 2011 he signed on as house drummer for the popular European television program Acadeaua, performing for the entire first season. Later that year, he reloacted to initiate session work in Nashville, TN.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians best known for their work in the United States, Eastern Europe and China.
Tom Smith (father) is a long time American university professor and multiple Senior Fulbright Professor of Music at the Romanian National University of Music, the University of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, the University of KwaZulu-Natal
University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...
Jazz Center, in Durban, South Africa and the University of Arts, in Belgrade, Serbia. He was introduced to fine arts at an early age by his father, a noted trombonist and painter, best known for his work with New Orleans traditional jazz artist Murphy Campo. Tom Smith
Tom Smith
- Sports :* R. Thomas "Tom" Smith , American thoroughbred racehorse trainer of Seabiscuit* Tom Smith , Major League player* Tom Smith , Major League player...
was the longest continuous member of the North Carolina Artist-in-Residence Program (1984–1992). It was during this time that he founded some of the most critically acclaimed community and regional jazz ensembles in America, while performing for over two-million people. His best known group was the Unifour Jazz Ensemble, an eighteen-piece big band that placed seventh in the 1988 Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Readers Poll. In that same poll, Smith placed fifth in the trombone category. As an improvising soloist, he has performed and toured with Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
, Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Chris Potter
Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist)
Chris Potter is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Potter spent most of his childhood in Columbia, South Carolina where his mother taught psychology at the University of South Carolina...
, the New York Voices, Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton
Nicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father...
, Herb Ellis
Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert "Herb" Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as "an excellent bop-based guitarist with a...
, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Darius Brubeck and the Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...
. Smith is also a noted music historian and researcher. In 2001 he and his research partner Gary Westbrook received international recognition for identifying the musical fingerprint for identification of unknown personnel on early recordings. Since 2002, his work in Romania has drawn wide attention in the field of jazz education. Called by a former Fulbright Executive Director the premminent Fulbright Scholar in Romanian history, Smith is the only foreigner to have been awarded The Romanian National Radio Prize (Romania's highest musical honor). Most recently, he founded and coordinated the Romanian Jazz Education Seminar, the first summer music camp staged in Romania, and helped found the first western styled jazz music college in that country. In 2008, Smith was the recipient of the International Association for Jazz Education Jazz Ambassador Award, in special ceremonies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, having already been awarded Outstanding Service to Jazz Education honors in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. In 2009, Tom received his seventh Fulbright Award (a record for musician professors) and accepted residency at the Serbia Academy of Music (University of Arts) drafting the curriculum for their jazz program. Later, he accepted guest jazz studies appointments in Budva, Montenegro. In 2010 Tom and his wife Sarah relocated again to Northeast China to implement a new series of programs and initiatives. In 2011 he was appointed a professor of music at Ningbo University (Zhejiang Province, China) assigned to establish the first academic jazz program on the Chinese mainland and serve as editor in chief of China's first English language journal of musicology.
Matt Smith (son) is an award winning teenage jazz percussionist and hip hop mixologist, considered among the fastest drummers in the world. In 2006, he became (at age 16) the youngest ever WFD World's Fastest Drummer Extreme Sport Drumming
WFD World's Fastest Drummer Extreme Sport Drumming
WFD World's Fastest Drummer Extreme Sport Drumming describes the sporting event that surrounds self proclaimed speed drummers and a mechanical instrument called the Drumometer, an electronic device invented by Boo McAfee and Craig Alan that is used to count drum strokes...
World Champion. He has held a number of speed drumming world records, including the record for high speed endurance (5132 single strokes in five consecutive minutes),and is currently the #1 ranked traditional grip
Traditional grip
Traditional grip is a technique used to hold drum sticks while playing percussion instruments. Unlike matched grip, each hand holds the stick differently. Commonly, the right hand uses an overhand grip and the left hand uses an underhand grip...
speed drummer of all time, defeating Mike Mangini
Mike Mangini
Mike Mangini is an American drummer, and the current drummer for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He has played for Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie, and Steve Vai, among others. He lectured at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and is also known for his work as a session musician...
with a score of 1132 single strokes in one minute on June, 2008. He was introduced to drums at age 9 when Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
(one of his father's performing acquaintances) gave him his first pair of drumsticks. His official debut occurred at age 12, when he performed for a jazz combo on Romanian National Television. At age 14, he recorded a debut album under his own name featuring an all star Eastern European lineup. In 2008, he was ranked third in the Rising New Star category of the Drum Magazine Reader's Poll. After receiving a performance diploma from the Atlanta Institute of Music in 2009, Matt relocated to Bucharest, Romania and performed with numerous jazz and pop ensembles throughout the world. In 2010 he signed on with the Adrian Klein Agency where he began production of nu jazz recordings, and performed with a diverse lineup of artists that included jazz pianist Darius Brubeck and Linkin Park singer Mike Shinoda. In 2011 he signed on as house drummer for the popular European television program Acadeaua, performing for the entire first season. Later that year, he reloacted to initiate session work in Nashville, TN.