Jazz Articles about Neal Smith

About Neal Smith

Album Review

Homage, Sheryl Bailey's 12th outing as a leader, is a welcome and well deserved musical love letter to the late, great Pat Martino. The opening track, with one of the great song titles in instrumental music history, “The Velvet Hammer," was written for Martino, and the decision to have keyboardist Miki Hayama play the Fender Rhodes throughout harkens back to one of Martino's masterpieces with Gil Goldstein, We'll Be Together Again (Muse, 1976). But make no mistake, Bailey ...

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Album Review

Neal Smith: Some of My Favorite Songs Are...

Read "Some of My Favorite Songs Are..." reviewed by Elliott Simon

by Elliott Simon
January 28, 2006

Debut recordings can give a deceptively strong impression of a leader, since his or her best hour of material is showcased. Many an artist can't match that initial effort and fall prey to the dreaded sophomore jinx. Drummer Neal Smith has confounded that scenario by releasing his second recording along with his first--and when they are taken together, one is left stunned by a multifaceted drummer who is at home in a variety of milieus. While Swingin' is Believin' was ...

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Album Review

Neal Smith: Swingin' Is Believin'

Read "Swingin' Is Believin'" reviewed by Elliott Simon

by Elliott Simon
December 26, 2005

Swingin' is Believin' is evidence that Neal Smith is well aware of the Indian proverb “A good drummer listens as much as he plays. Not to say that Smith is a wallflower. Au contraire, he has that much-desired talent of solidifying an organized sound while driving the music in interesting directions. Coupled with an obvious connection to pianist Rick Germanson and bassist Michael Hawkins, Smith, pianist Cyrus Chestnut's first-call drummer, has elected to share the spotlight with no less than ...