Nate Smith at SOB's

Nate Smith
Sounds Of Brazil
New York, NY
November 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 his own band, Kinfolk. In this group, Smith has had a rotating cast of characters that have included Jeremy Most , Fima Ephron, Jaleel Shaw, Kris Bowers, Brad Allen Williams and Jon Cowherd. This show did not include any of these fine musicians, and this was not a Kinfolk show. Although Smith's name was on the marquee, this was a performance of a few close friends doing an entirely improvised set of music with no album to promote, compositions to execute, or preconceived ideas brought in before the performance's count-off. This night of sound was a sonic conversation between Jason Lindner on keys, Tim Lefebvre on bass, and a special guest who goes by the name of STOUT (aka Denise Renee) on voice.

The hosting venue was the historic downtown live music club SOB's (short for "Sounds Of Brazil"). Attendance was very healthy, with standing room only. The conversation in the green room before the show quickly turned to the recent sad news that the beloved NYC venue Rockwood Music Hall had closed after two decades. Each member shared stories of the value of such a venue in terms of developing their craft and audience. The evening's performance was an ode to those days and the gratitude they each had for that outlet. Lefebvre was particularly nice and inquired around the room what everybody had coming up on their particular schedules. He mentioned that after this short tour, he would be heading off to Sweden to play with Andreas Schaerer, a Swiss jazz vocalist, before they would reconvene in February 2025 for a few more dates.

The show began with Smith creating a palate to explore over. Lefebvre picked up the acoustic upright and supported the wash of cymbals Smith was exporting to the room. The sonic density began to build as Lindner thickened the air with luscious pads of color. This segment developed into a confident halftime groove, allowing just enough foundation for the trio to build upon and increase the energy to a climax. The trio's use of dynamics and color was impressive and captivating. There were no periods in this musical conversation but shifts of thick and thin densities like long rolling waves and crashes of sound and silence. It was as if these musicians were to sound what a kaleidoscope is to light. As the sonic alchemy continued, they brought the dynamic way down, at first, with Smith flipping off the snares on his drum and then seamlessly switching to handheld shakers. Before we knew it, Smith was moving about the stage in perfect rhythmic harmony with his fellow bandmates until they dissolved into silence.

After the usual band introductions and general thankyous, Smith again took his throne, this time shifting the groove to a thick six-eight pattern. Once again, it was a perfect vehicle to paint their musical masterpiece on. The interplay and their non-verbal communication was impeccable and on the highest level of its kind. This performance could have fit right in the ECM Records catalog along with all the other amazing moments of time they currently offer. After about forty minutes of sound painting, Smith introduced Stout. Since there were no compositions, the audience listened on, curious as to what her approach might be. In this setting, Stout used her voice as a melodic instrument, selecting a few choice words to stretch and contract in rhythmic modulation, fast to slow, triplet to duplet, ever more quickly, and slowing the pronunciation in a beautiful way. Stout started her musical journey as a drummer in her church, so it was clearly evident how she developed her command of this rhythmic approach.

The evening progressed through various grooves and tempos encompassing reggae and dance styles until the end. The performance clocked in at about an hour and took everyone on the perfect musical journey. Smith is becoming a powerful voice in both the drumming and bandleader communities. If you missed them this time around, check out Smith's website for future dates with the same lineup.

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