Steve Smith (musician)

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Steve Smith on drum, with Vital Information, 18th Eventus DrumFest Opole 2009.jpg

Steve Smith (born August 21, 1954 in Whitman , Massachusetts ) is an American drummer ; he became world famous as a member of the band Journey .

Live and act

Smith began playing the drums at the age of 9. In September 1978 he joined Journey as a replacement for the outgoing Aynsley Dunbar . He was in the band until 1985 and was taken out of the band at the instigation of singer Steve Perry , as well as bassist Ross Valory. After that he only took care of his solo projects and was also a popular session drummer. During his time at Journey , he founded the Vital Information formation in 1983 . In 1985 he recorded the title "Heaven", a ballad by Bryan Adams for his album "Reckless". In 1996 he played with Journey's reunion album Trial by Fire , but left the band Journey in May 1998, as did singer Steve Perry.

In 1983 he founded his own jazz rock band Steve Smith and Vital Information with Tim Landers , Dave Wilczewski , Dean Brown and Mike Stern , in which Eef Albers also played. In order not only to be classified in the category of fusion musicians, he recorded the album Reimagined: Volume 1 - Jazz Standards in 2002 , on which he interpreted the John Coltrane pieces "Impressions" and "Countdown", as well as songs from the Ellington repertoire like "Caravan" and " Mood Indigo " as well as Miles Davis ' " All Blues ". In 2005 the album Flashpoint followed with Dave Liebman and Anthony Jackson . Together with Fareed Haque , Kai Eckhardt , George Brooks and Zakir Hussain he played in the group Summit , which last released the album Summit: Spirit and Spice in 2010. With Brooks and R. Prasanna he formed the Ragabop Trio .

Steve Smith has been playing drums from the German manufacturer Sonor for over 30 years . On the occasion of this anniversary he was on an extensive, worldwide workshop tour, which also took him through Germany.

Modern Drummer Magazine's readership voted him “No.1 All-Around Drummer” five times in a row. In 2001 he was named one of the "Top 25 Drummers of All Time" by the same journal; In 2002 he was elected into the "Modern Drummer Hall of Fame". His DVD Steve Smith Drumset Technique - History of the US Beat by Hudson Music was named "No.1 Educational DVD of 2003". His other instructional DVDs include The Art of Playing With Brushes and Steve Smith Drum Legacy .

Since the end of 2015, Steve Smith has been active again as a drummer for his former companions Journey . In 2016, Rolling Stone listed him as 36th of the 100 best drummers of all time .

Discographic notes

  • 1988: Fia Fiaga (Columbia / SONY)
  • 1989: NYC (at Mike Mainieri 's Steps Ahead )
  • 1995: Easier Said Than Done
  • 1996: Vitalive! (EMI Manhattan)
  • 1998: Where We Come from (Intuition)
  • 2000: Live Around the World Where We (2CD) (Intuition)
  • 2002: Reimagined: Volume 1 - Jazz Standards (Bluejay)
  • 2004: Come on in (Tone Center)
  • 2005: Flashpoint
  • 2008: Vitalization
  • 2012: Live: One Great Night (Q-rious Music)
  • 2016: Steppin 'Out (at Steps Ahead )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biography of musicians at Allaboutjazz from May 20, 2008 , accessed November 11, 2012
  2. ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Steve
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American drummer
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Whitman (Massachusetts)