Jazz Articles about Nate Smith

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2026 Newport Jazz Festival

by Richard Conde
August 24, 2026

The Newport Jazz Festival was held at scenic Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Artistic Director Nate Smith put together an interesting blend of established talent, including Herbie Hancock and Charles Lloyd, with new crossover talent such as Celeste and Angine de Poitrine. Friday highlights included NEA Jazz Master Charles Lloyd's Sky Quartet, which featured Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Kweku Sumbry. The set was dedicated to the late John Coltrane. Charles Lloyd's sound ...

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Chris Potter: Alive With Ghosts Today

by Kevin Poindexter
June 5, 2026

The history of America is haunted by ghosts of the past. These ghosts transform our present-day landscape, our everyday lives, and inform the very core of our existence. On Alive With Ghosts Today (Edition Records, 2026), saxophonist Chris Potter  steps away from the normal high-adrenaline jazz that has signified his recent outings and has instead put together a band designed to feel more like a small-town ensemble, a mixture of jazz and folk, to lead through a suite of tunes that examines ...

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Mike Pope: The Parts You Keep

by Jack Bowers
September 1, 2025

You have to admire a bandleader who enhances an album by dedicating one of his compositions to an Uber driver and inviting his 85-year-old mother to play piano on the last two numbers. That is exactly what bassist Mike Pope does on The Parts You Keep, and they are two of the recording's more pleasing episodes. Pope also adds a four-member string section on the standard “That Old Feeling" and his quirky composition “Past Is Prologue" (both of which encompass ...

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Nate Smith at The Cleveland Museum of Art

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 2, 2025

Nate Smith Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, Ohio February 19, 2025 When it comes to drummers who can seamlessly traverse multiple genres, Nate Smith stands in a league of his own. Effortlessly shifting from hard-swinging jazz to the tightest hip-hop grooves, he makes it all look easy. His musical journey accelerated at 16 when he discovered Art Blakey's Album of the Year (Timeless, 1981), a revelation that set him on a path of deep study. ...

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Nate Smith at SOB's

by Chris DeRosa
November 25, 2024

Nate SmithSounds Of BrazilNew York, NYNovember 15, 2024 Hello, my name is Chris DeRosa and this is what I heard... Nate Smith may not be a household name unless you confuse him with the country singer, but this Nate Smith is truly “one of a kind." Smith started his career around 2003 when he joined David Holland's quintet. After touring and recording with Holland for almost a decade, he went on to form ...

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Nate Smith Kinfolk: Retold

by Mike Jacobs
August 24, 2024

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Nate Smith: A Drummer's Life

by Mark Robbins
August 8, 2022

Nate Smith can't sit down! After headlining with two of his bands at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival, The Fearless Flyers and Nate Smith + Kinfolk he is off to New York for a one week run at the Blue Note followed by Los Angeles, Europe and then back to the United States where he is on the road for the rest of the year. For the past 20 years Smith has worked with the biggest names in jazz, rock, ...