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Enoch Smith Jr.: The Book of Enoch Vol. 1
by Jim Trageser
With a longstanding residence as a music worship leader at Allentown Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, pianist / composer Enoch Smith Jr. comes to jazz with a gospel perspective. Once common in soul music and even blues, this gospel background is rarer in jazz, especially in recent years. On The Book of Enoch, Vol 1, as in his previous outing, The Quest: Live at APC (2016), Smith's performance is in a jazz vein--albeit one with significant ...
Continue ReadingEnoch Smith Jr.: The Quest: Live at the A.P.C.
by Jim Trageser
The Church has long been a cornerstone of African-American cultural identity, as well as musical inspiration. Gospel is the third leg of African-American music, coming of age alongside jazz and blues in the early part of the 20th Century. Pianist Enoch Smith Jr. has managed to keep feet in two of those worlds. As music director at Allentown Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, Smith works with the house band for each week's praise selections. But he's also ...
Continue ReadingEnoch Smith Jr.: Misfits II: Pop
by Chris M. Slawecki
Growing up in the Pentecostal Church of God by Faith (in Rochester, NY) has been the biggest musical influence on pianist Enoch Smith, Jr. He titled his 2010 self-produced debut Church Boy and continues to serve as full-time Director of Music and Worship and pianist for Allentown (NJ) Presbyterian Church. “Growing up and playing mostly in church, you get a whole different side of what music is all about," Smith explains. “For me, it was always more of a spiritual ...
Continue ReadingEnoch Smith, Jr.: Church boy
by Javier AQ Ortiz
Pianist and composer Enoch Smith, Jr. appears in the recorded jazz landscape fully blossomed, ripened and in full swing. His thrilling ChurchBboy bears a brazen and welcomed Christian musical engraving that offers proof of expected influences from classical, soul, gospel music and the Protestant Christian hymnody. However, there's no denying the Latin and Caribbean tinges, such as on the reggae-like “Untitled (No Words)." In a repertoire that pretty much divides itself neatly in half between lively and mid-tempo material, just ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With Enoch Smith, Jr.
by AAJ Staff
Meet Enoch Smith Jr.: “I'm a music lover first. My musical ability is just an extension of my love. Jazz, gospel, music for film/television, you name it and I can tell you a story about how I fell in love with it." At the late age of 14 he began playing piano by ear at his church. This blossomed into a love affair that would prove lasting. By the age of 16, Enoch was determined to be ...
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