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Enoch Smith Jr.
Enoch Smith Jr. is a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader whose music blends blues, swing, gospel influence, groove-based rhythm, and modern jazz trio interplay into a deeply personal and melodic voice. Rooted equally in church tradition and straight-ahead jazz, Smith’s work is known for its emotional clarity, rhythmic feel, and strong sense of storytelling.
Born in Rochester, New York, Smith grew up immersed in church music, singing in choir before eventually teaching himself piano as a teenager while also playing drums and trumpet. He later attended Berklee College of Music, where he further developed the musical language that would become the foundation of his work as a pianist and composer.
Over the course of his recording career, Smith has consistently explored the intersection of jazz, gospel, blues, and contemporary groove music through projects including Church Boy, Misfits, Misfits II, To Houston, With Love, and The Quest: Live at APC. His 2025 release, The Book of Enoch, Vol. 1, marked a major breakthrough, peaking at #28 on the JazzWeek chart and receiving national airplay from more than 50 stations including WRTI, WDCB, KUVO, KNKX, WDNA, KCSM, and WGBH.
Smith’s latest recording, This Is What Love Does, continues that artistic trajectory through a warm, groove-centered trio sound rooted in blues feeling, swing, Caribbean influence, and deeply personal storytelling. Dedicated to his family, the album reflects on the relationships, memories, and experiences that continue to shape his life and music.
In addition to his recording work, Smith is co-founder of the Heart of Jazz Foundation, an organization dedicated to mentorship, performance opportunities, and the development of emerging Philadelphia-area jazz musicians.
Based in New Jersey, Smith records independently on his Misfitme Music label.
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Enoch Smith Jr.: This Is What Love Does
by D.W. Long
When the medium artists use is typically wordless, how do they tell their story? Pianist Enoch Smith Jr.. has confronted this question, turned it over, and not only accepted the challenge, but mastered it. In a follow-up to The Book of Enoch Vol. 1 (Misfitme Music, 2025), Smith continues to joyfully tell his tale through This is What Love Does, his 2026 release. Conceived and executed as an acoustic trio album, the project's nine songs--of which seven are originals--explore family, ...
Continue ReadingEnoch 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 ...
Continue ReadingEnoch Smith Jr. Returns With This Is What Love Does
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Enoch Smith Jr.
Following the return to recording marked by The Book of Enoch, Vol. 1, pianist and composer Enoch Smith Jr. takes the next step in his musical evolution with This Is What Love Does, a nine-song piano trio recording featuring seven original compositions. The new album turns Smith's attention inward, drawing on family, memory, love and responsibility while continuing to explore the blues, swing, gospel, groove and rhythmic influences that have shaped his work. The album will be released August 28 ...
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Pianist Enoch Smith Jr. Returns To Recording After An 8-year Absence With "The Book Of Enoch Vol. 1," Set For Nov. 7 Release On Misfitme Music
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Terri Hinte Publicity
Enoch Smith Jr. gives the gospel music repertoire a fresh infusion of blues and swing with the heartfelt, hard-driving The Book of Enoch Vol. 1, to be released November 7 on his own Misfitme Music. Played by his trio of bassist Kai Gibson and drummer David Hardy, thealbum—Smith’s sixth, and his first in eight years—obviously draws deeply on the gospel tradition but presents its seven tunes in the context of soulful, infectious straight-ahead jazz. In other words, it might not ...
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Pianist/Composer Enoch Smith Jr. To Release His 4th CD, "The Quest: Live At APC," November 11
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
The Quest: Live at APC is the latest recorded chapter in composer/pianist Enoch Smith Jr.’s ongoing search to find a seamless synthesis of jazz and gospel and a balance between the spiritual and technical aspects of his creativity. Smith’s 4th CD as a leader and first live date will be released by his Misfitme Music label on November 11. “It’s my belief that jazz would not exist in the form it does today if not for black gospel music and ...
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"Misfits II Pop," 3rd CD By Pianist Enoch Smith Jr., Due For Release By Misfitme Music May 19
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
Pianist/composer Enoch Smith Jr. has embraced the “Misfit” mantle ever since his days at Berklee College of Music, when the self-taught musician realized he didn’t quite fit into the mold of his classmates and their daunting formal training. But Smith’s eclectic, refreshingly different music does fit quite nicely into the ever-evolving jazz tradition. On his third album, Misfits II: Pop, he continues to refine his approach to the jazz mainstream and other influences, including hip-hop and his ongoing work as ...
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Pianist/Composer Enoch Smith Jr. Releases "Misfits," His 2nd CD as a Leader, Nov. 8
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
Pianist/composer Enoch Smith Jr. has taken his own unconventional path to a rising career in music, the latest chapter of which is the November 8 release of his CD Misfits. The new disc, on Smith's label Music4MyPeople Entertainment, is an engaging follow-up to his 2010 debut Church Boy. Misfits boasts eight originals by the Rochester, NY native, including “Wise Man," inspired by Ellis Marsalis; the instrumental “She Moves Me," written for his wife Gabriella; and “I Want You," composed for ...
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Primary Instrument
Piano
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
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Enoch Smith Jr.
Instrument: Piano
Born: November 24, 1978
Publicist: Terri Hinte Publicity
