WALTER SMITH III: Casually Introducing Walter Smith III

Walter Smith III

Casually Introducing Walter Smith III

© 2006 WS3 Music, ASCAP (8427328422475)

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Young tenor saxophonist's debut disc on the Fresh Sound label with some of the best talent on the new york scene. Modern original instrumental jazz-based music with intelligent originals and fresh treatments of a few jazz classics.

tracks

1 Cyclic Episode
2 Kate Song
3 Tail of Benin
4 Benny's
5 Duke Ellington's Sound of Love
6 Wooden Box (Spatula in Three)
7 Peace
8 P.O.S.
9 Blues

notes

Bio: Walter Smith III

Walter Smith III began playing the saxophone at the age of 7 in his hometown of Houston, TX. At Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, in 1998, Smith received a Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship from IAJE and NFAA; the NFAA Young Talent Award; a full tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music; and a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts medal. Walter Graduated from Berklee in 2003 with a degree in Music Education.
While in Boston, Walter was selected by the Boston Jazz Society to receive its annual award whose past winners have included Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison. In July of 2002, Walter walked away from the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with third place in the 1st annual International Saxophone Competition, as well as winning the Audience's Favorite Award. In 2003, Walter moved to New York and began studying at Manhattan School of Music on a full tuition scholarship to receive a master’s in jazz performance. While in New York, Smith kept himself busy touring and performing with such artists as Roy Haynes and Ralph Peterson, as well as Bilal and Destiny’s Child. Smith recently performed in a Tsunami benefit concert with R&B vocalist Lauryn Hill in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Walter has performed all over the world participating in numerous national and international festivals as well as famed stages in the U.S. such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Smith has shared the stage and/or appeared on recording with many jazz notables including Roy Hargrove, Sean Jones, Terence Blanchard, Darren Barrett, Eric Reed, Makoto Ozone, Mulgrew Miller, Jason Moran, Joe Sample, Rueben Rogers, Bob Hurst, Donald Harrison, Antonio Hart, Joe Lovano, Bill Pierce, Myron Walden, Walter Beasley, Lewis Nash, Eric Harland, Ralph Peterson, Terri Lynne-Carrington, and a host of others.
Walter's debut recording as a leader was released in March of 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and features many of his original compositions. The band is comprised of some of the best young musicians on the scene today including Aaron Parks, Robert Glasper, Lionel Loueke, Lage Lund, Gretchen Parlato, Rueben Rogers, Vicente Archer, Kendrick Scott, Eric Harland, and Matt Kilmer. (for reviews, please visit www.waltersmith3. com)
Most recently Walter has finished a two-year program with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles and has already completed tours of both Vietnam and India with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Starting in the fall of 2007, Walter will be teaching at the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, and is currently touring with the Sean Jones Sextet, Christian Scott and Jason Moran’s Monk Town Hall project titled “In My Mind”.
In 2007 Walter is an integral part of two Grammy nominated recordings including Christian Scott’s “Rewind That” that was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Michael Buble’s “Caught in the Act” which was nominated in the Traditional/Pop category. All to be released before the summer of 2007, Walter is featured on upcoming new releases by trumpeters Christian Scott (Concord Records) and Sean Jones (Mack Avenue Records), Drummer Kendrick Scott (World Culture Music), as well as a new live recording of Smith’s own band taped in France.

reviews

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  • YOUNG MAN!!!!!!
    author: jesse McBride

    reppin the damn H!!!!!As we all are tryin to do. Congrats i listen to this record all the time. Keep the killin music comin.

  • author: Richard S.

    This CD is really killin

  • author: marcus

    just fantastic....

  • Really fantastic playing and great tunes- can't get enough!
    author: Andy M.

    I went to music school with Walter and knew it was only a matter of time before he started releasing ridiculously good albums. I have been waiting for this and it certainly meets and surpasses my expectations. A superb album in every sense, I think Mr. Smith will become one of this generations jazz greats. Bravo!

  • Quite some introduction
    author: James Wylie

    A wonderful album, everyone plays with a sense of excitement. Walter Smith III sounds great, but the other revelation for me is the playing of Aaron Parks, he has quickly become one of my favourite pianists and he sounds amazing on here. Highly recommended!

  • Casually introducing the next major voice on tenor
    author: Patrick Cornelius

    Skeptical of such a tall claim? Take a listen then, folks, and get back to me. Want to hear blistering straight-ahead freebop chops? Listen to "Blues" or "Cyclic Episode." Is sensitive balladeering more your cup of tea? "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" has got what you crave. Do you prefer conceptual impressionism? Check out Walter's progressive "Tail of Benin." This disc is a strong first statement by a strong new talent. One listen to Smith's ridiculously well-crafted solo on "Kate's Song" will be enough to convince you that this is casually one of the most compelling records of the year.

  • Freakin Awesome!!!!
    author: Tim Gonzalez

    This is not only a cd full of great musicians, but also great original songs!!! Awesome from begining to end!!

  • Awe-inspiring
    author: Dwayne Smith

    Words cannot describe the brilliance displayed on this album. I simply can't stop listening!

  • Brilliant collaboration of artists!
    author: Adam Semanoff

    Walter is a bad ass! Enough said

  • Nice Liner Notes
    author: Jacob Rodriguez

    The CD has the best liner notes. Worth the buy for the liner notes alone. No lie

  • A new relesae that has incoperated the rich history of expression.
    author: R.Leon Quinerly

    Casually Introducing rises above the mundane of the scene to deliver a brilliant mix of thoughtfull compositions, musicality and humor. This release casually ushers in a new generation of innovators.

  • a "MUST GET" for those who consider themselves a jazz connoisseur!!
    author: Marcus Strickland

    Walter is one of my favorite saxophonists/ composers of today. This CD is a "MUST GET" for those who consider themselves a jazz connoisseur!!

  • Fantastic -- Deep -- Playful-- Introspective -- Spiritual -- Awesome
    author: Cynthia A. Smith

    Fantastic -- Deep -- Playful-- Introspective -- Spiritual -- Awesome--We've waited 25 years for this release. It's fun to see everything unfolding. The CD is exciting to listen to over and over and over and over and over again. We love it!

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