Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Walter Smith III (born September 24, 1980) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
In addition to performing with his own group, Smith is a member of the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet. Smith has also toured with such renowned artists as Terence Blanchard, Roy Haynes, Sean Jones, Christian McBride, Herbie Hancock, Mulgrew Miller, and Joe Lovano. Outside of jazz, Smith has toured with R&B artists such as Bilal, Destiny's Child, and Lauryn Hill. He regularly plays and records with modern jazz notables including Ambrose Akinmusire, Christian Scott, Eric Harland, Logan Richardson, Kendrick Scott, Aaron Parks, Warren Wolf, and many others.
To date he has released three albums as leader: Casually Introducing (2006), Live In Paris (2009), and III (2010).
Biography [edit]
Smith began playing the saxophone at the age of seven in his hometown of Houston, Texas. While at Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, he received a Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship from IAJE and NFAA; the NFAA Young Talent Award; a full-tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music; and a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts medal. He graduated from Berklee in 2003 with a degree in music education.
Smith has performed all over the world, in numerous national and international festivals and on famed stages in the U.S. such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. He has shared the stage and appeared on recordings with many jazz notables, including Terence Blanchard, Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Joe Lovano, Bob Hurst, Myron Walden, Walter Beasley, Lewis Nash, Terri Lyne Carrington, and a host of others. To date, he has appeared on more than 75 recordings that are released worldwide.
Smith's debut recording as a leader was released in March 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and features many of the brightest young jazz talents. His sophomore release, entitled Live in Paris, was released in October 2009 to critical acclaim. His most recent album, III, was released in September 2010 and was a top 10 best seller on iTunes. He is currently signed to Concord Records and is working on a new project called the NEXT Collective.
Over the past few years, besides leading a quintet, Smith has been a member of several recording and touring groups, including the Terence Blanchard Quintet, Eric Harland's Voyager Band, Ambrose Akinmusire's Quintet, Christian Scott's group, the Sean Jones Sextet, Jason Moran’s Big Bandwagon, and the Christian McBride Situation band.
Smith lives in Los Angeles where he teaches music at the LA County High School for the Arts.