Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Walter Smith III is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
Smith has played with such renowned artists as Terence Blanchard, Roy Haynes, Sean Jones, Christian McBride, Mulgrew Miller, and Joe Lovano. He has also 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, and many others.
To date he has released three albums as leader: Casually Introducing (2006), Live In Paris (2009), and III (2010).
Biography
Walter Smith III began playing the saxophone at the age of 7 in his hometown of Houston, TX. At Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, in 1998, Smith 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. Walter Graduated from Berklee in 2003 with a degree in Music Education.
Walter's debut recording as a leader was released in March 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and features Aaron Park, Reuben Rogers, Eric Harland, Kendrick Scott, and Ambrose Akinmusire, among others. His sophomore release, titled Live in France, was released in October 2009 and features Ambrose Akinmusire, Aaron Goldberg, Marcus Gilmore, and Matt Brewer. His most recent album, III, was released in September 2010 and was the #3 best seller on iTunes in the U.S. for it’s first week. It features Ambrose Akinmusire, Jason Moran, Joe Sanders, and Eric Harland.
Over the past few years, besides leading a quintet, Walter has been a member of several groups (recording and touring) including the Terence Blanchard group, Eric Harland's quintet, Ambrose Akinmusire's band, Christian Scott's group, the Sean Jones sextet, Jason Moran’s Big Bandwagon (In My Mind:Monk at Town Hall), and the Christian McBride situation band.
Career as teacherWalter also teaches at the LA County High School for the Arts.