Although it is not Monday Morning, this morning, you need to peep Nate Smith cause I guarantee it will start out your weekend right.
Every once and a while you run into one of those musicians that can do it all. They can play something interesting on almost anything you put in front of them, whether it be a piano, snare drum, salt shaker, slide whistle, etc... Its a rarity but when someone has that kind of talent and has put in a lot of work to honing it, their gift is really something special to acknowledge and appreciate.
Which is why there is no way I couldn't write about one of the musicians I have a ton of respect for, Nate Smith. This guy is the real f***in deal, as not only one of the highest demand jazz drummers out there, but as a Soul/R&B/Hip-Hop producer. It seems like no matter who I show his music to, everyone can find something in his music that they deeply connect to. (whether a jazz head, R&B/Soul fan, hip-hop producer, rocker or just general fan of music)
Originally from Virginia, Nate Smith began touring with jazz legend Betty Carter while still attending James Madison University, which eventually led to his meeting with jazz bassist Dave Holland. Smith currently plays in Holland's Grammy award winning jazz quintet, The Dave Holland Quintet. You can hear him playing with them here. Definitely check out the 3 minute drum feature that begins 3 minutes in or so. This video doesn't even show you just how talented this guy is on the kit, I've seen him live twice and both times it was incredible. Not only with the Dave Holland group, but also with the Chris Potter Undergound.
As far as his production and song writing, Smith got one of his first breakthroughs back in 2001 when he co-wrote a piece on Michael Jackson's Invincible titled: "Heaven Can Wait." Not a bad start, writing for the king of pop? But some of my favorite work of his came off his EP that was released last year, Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1. This EP features MC and member of A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and also talented vocalist John Gordon.
Definitely check out the single from the EP: "Monday Morning". Clearly Nate Smith draws from all kinds of music to create a fresh style. Honestly I think that if he gained more publicity he could really shake up the R&B/Soul scene, so definitely check him out and get the rest of Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1! let me know what you think.
