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Take Five With Daniel Ian Smith

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Meet Daniel Ian Smith: Daniel Ian Smith is a saxophonist/flutist and an Associate Professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he has taught for the past fifteen years. Daniel has had the privilege to perform in Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the United States in major jazz festivals and venues including: Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, The Pit Inn, Schlot, Ottawa International, JAZZUV in Mexico, Visiones, and many others.

Leader of the New World Jazz Composers Octet, the Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra, Daniel Ian Smith and a Collective Directive, artistic director of Jazz in the Sanctuary, independent jazz label Big and Phat Jazz Productions. I am currently a member of the Mark Walker's Rhythm of the America's octet, the Pablo Ablanedo Octet (fresh sound recording artist), Sergio Brandao and Manga Rosa, Fernando Brandao's Bohemia Carioca. Featured on over 20 recordings and am a guest artist and guest director/lecturer at the International JAZZUV Festival in Xalapa, Mexico. I currently endorse Alexander Superial Reeds.

Instrument(s):

Saxophones/flutes.

Teachers and/or influences?

Major teachers have included Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz, Steve Brown, George Garzone, Steven Mauk, Pamela Gearhart, Charlie Banacos, and Hal Crook. The music of Joe Henderson, Duke Ellington, Karel Husa, Chico Buarque, John Coltrane, Thad Jones, Joyce Moreno, Ernesto Lecuona, and so many others that have touched and inspired me beyond words.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

I always had an interest and love for all things musical. When it was time for college I had a choice between playing music and playing football, (quite a disparate choice!). But, I really knew that music was it when I heard one of my most influential teachers, Pamela Gearhart, pick up a student's violin to demonstrate a passage during an orchestra rehearsal and it moved me to tears. I knew then how beautiful and vital music was and how much I wanted it to be a part of my life.

Your sound and approach to music:

A difficult question. Given the situation I mentioned above, I think making a sound with presence, personality and integrity is an essential ingredient in any player's sound. Think of all the greatest players, most people can identify the greatest players within a few notes. Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Lester Young, Isaac Stern, Vladimir Horowitz, Marshall Royal, Woody Shaw, Kenny Garrett, Steve Lacy. I could on and on. It's about personality. Music and life are parallels in my opinion. There is no art form that comes closer to imitating life than music. It's about honesty, integrity, community. I hope that is where my sound and approaches come from.

Your teaching approach:

I guess my approach or philosophy is about striking the balance between pedagogy and inspiration. This is a difficult endeavor at times. It's imperative to deal with basic musical elements and be clear in the delivery of that tacit information (Eb Major, II-V7-I, melodic development, three different fingerings for altissimo G on tenor, two of which don't work on alto! etc). A student needs to walk away from a class or lesson with information in hand. At the same time, we are all on a journey in our short lifetimes and I feel strongly that my role is also to shed light on the aesthetic and the importance of the journey itself. Inspire students to open doors they hadn't considered or have turned away from. I like to call music the "Tangible Intangible." It has elements that must be mastered but it also has a magic that must not be forgotten or taken for granted.

Your dream band:

My dream band. I like too many different genres and ensemble sizes to identify one but will try. Ideal "jazz quintet" would be: Steve Kuhn (piano), Scott LaFaro (bass), Roy Haynes (drums), Clark Terry (trumpet), myself (saxophones). I would love to work with Kenny Barron, he and Steve K are my two favorite contemporary piano players. Also, with Steve Swallow and Carla Bley's Big Band. I would love to play lead alto or baritone in the Vanguard band sometime. I'm a Brazilian music fan and would love to play with Joyce Moreno if Teco Cardoso needed a vacation! Maybe Hermeto Pascoal will put a big band together again and will call.

Road story: Your best or worst experience:

Fifteen years ago I was the recipient of a fellowship from the Japan Foundation which allowed me to live and study Japanese traditional music in Tokyo and Kobe for sux months. There are many stories from that time, but one of the longest lasting memories was working with an amazing composer/bassist by the name of Jyoji Sawada. He and I collaborated and performed together extensively during that time and I had the privilege of playing his music with a dancer during the Yokohama Port Festival. I performed solo with a dancer on a large floating stage in the middle of the harbor in front of several thousand people at night. Fireworks overhead and my wife backstage. I felt like I had "arrived."

Favorite venue:

I've played many different places: big/small clubs, major concert halls: Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, NHK Japan, large theatres. But at the moment the Fraser Performance Studio at WGBH here in Boston is my favorite place to play/record. It can hold approximately 130 people and is visually beautiful. The acoustics are truly exceptional and they have a gorgeous Steinway concert grand that makes any pianist smile. My most recent record was recorded there and I've had the privilege of performing there several times with my groups and my friend/pianist/historian Lewis Porter.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

I think my most recent record Transitions is my favorite at the moment. I'm proud of this record given the music written for the group and the wonderful collection of musicians. These guys are the best of the best. It's also special because I have the privilege of working with one of my mentors and dear friend Ted Pease on the project. I met Ted over fifteen years ago when I started teaching at Berklee. He is an amazing man and equally amazing musician. I can't say enough. I'm very fortunate.

The first Jazz album I bought was:

Miles Davis, Miles Smiles.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

I don't think about making contributions per se. I just do what I love to do which is make music with like minded individuals. For me what I do is not about me...it's about the group, it's about the composers who allow me to nurture their musical "offspring," it's about playing with cats who inspire me and those who listen to them. I guess, if anything, I feel that I provide an opportunity for great writers and great players to do what they do with integrity.

Did you know...

I used to work on the largest Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in upstate NY? I also worked on a dairy farm to help pay my way through college, (hard work).

CDs you are listening to now:

Joe Henderson, Power to the People-Milestone;

Dave Matthews Band, -Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (RCA);

Tutty Moreno/Rodolfo Stroeter, Nonada (PAUBRASIL);

Baaba Maal, Nomad Soul (Island Records/Palm Pictures);

Joyce Moreno, Slow Music (Biscoito Fino).

Desert Island picks:

Joe Henderson, State of the Trio (Blue Note);

Steve Swallow, Real Book (Wattworks);

Kenny Barron, Wanton Spirit (Gitanes/Verve);

Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life (Motown);

Beethoven, The Late Quartets (Deutsche Grammophon).

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

Alive and well in the ears, hearts and souls of many.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Honesty, integrity and passion. It's what keeps us all alive I think. (A few more places to perform wouldn't be a bad thing either.) This music (and ALL music) needs a place for people to come and hear it live. Music is about community and sharing, it shouldn't live exclusively in the ivory towers and educational institutions. It needs to be played in front of an audience. Music is for all of us not a chosen few. Towns, cities, states, our nation need to do more to bring music to the people. But people need to be pro-active and ask and go listen as well. Turn off your television and your computer.

What is in the near future?

I am currently promoting my new disc Transitions with my group the New World Jazz Composers Octet and trying to find opportunities to bring this music to wider audiences. Hoping to record a third CD with this group the beginning of next year. I'll be involved with the 3rd annual International JAZZUV Festival in Xalapa, Mexico this November. I'll be a guest performer/lecturer as I was last year and this time around I'm also the director of the jazz orchestra so am currently choosing a program for concerts with will feature several other guests including John Ramsay, Jason Palmer, Chris Crenshaw, McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, and Ray Drummond. I am very much looking forward to that. Lots of other things on the burner, too soon to mention.

By Day:

I'm an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music (full-time), where I've taught now for the last fifteen years. Between that, performing and my family that's plenty!

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:

Tour guide for bike and kayak excursions. Or a proprietor and cook for a bed and breakfast.

Photo Credit

Courtesy of Daniel Ian Smith.

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