Bassist Lee Smith's CD Release Celebration @ Kennett Square Flash!

Appearing at Kennett Flash, 102 Sycamore Alley in Kennett Square, PA, on October 3rd will be bassist Lee Smith and his group. One Show: 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, $5 for students and are available at the door only. For info: 610-745-3011.

This is a very special event that celebrates the release of Lee Smith: Sittin' on a Secret, the bassist's first-as-a-leader impressive new CD, featuring six original compositions and his own arrangements. Joining Smith at Kennett Flash will be pianist Anthony Wonsey, drummer Justin Faulkner, trumpeter Tim Thompson, and tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield.

Jazz Bridge, a 501C public charity that helps local jazz and blues musicians in crisis, is sponsoring this event, the Jazz in Kennett Square! season opener.

With a sound that can fill a room, an incomparable facility for soloing, and an absolutely fierce sense of swing, Lee Smith is a “bassist's bassist."

Smith's formative years were spent backing R&B artists like Billy Paul and the Delphonics. In 1977, he joined the jazz world via a five-year gig with legendary Latin percussionist Mongo Santamaria. He switched to upright bass in 1986, and over the years he's backed the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Roland Kirk and countless others, including a fondly- recalled ten-year stint with the late and great pianist/organist Trudy Pitts.