Marvin Smith
Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer.
Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. As a result, "Smitty," was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musical training at the age of three.[1] After graduating Waukegan East High School, Smith attended College of Lake County from 1983-85 as a member of their Jazz Ensemble after graduating class of 1981 Berklee,[2] has recorded 200 albums with various artists, as well as two solo albums.[3] He also has toured with Sting, Dave Holland, Sonny Rollins, Willie Nelson and with Steve Coleman.[3] He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet,[1] and Drummer under fellow Berklee alum and Musical Director, Kevin Eubanks, for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from January 30, 1995[3] to the show's end on May 29, 2009 and the start of the second incarnation The Jay Leno Show, March 1, 2010.
Smith is often an in-studio guest on The Loose Cannons sports radio program, on Los Angeles' KLAC-AM, often when the Tonight Show is on a vacation break. Marvin Smith is married to Kimberly Brown-Smith of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Discography
As leader
- Keeper of the Drums (Concord Jazz, 1987)
- The Road Less Traveled (Concord Jazz, 1989)
As sideman
With Hamiet Bluiett
- Ebu (Soul Note, 1984)
With Igor Butman
- Falling Out (Impromptu, 1993)
With Don Byron
- No-vibe Zone (Knitting Factory Works, 1996)
With Steve Coleman and M-Base
- Steve Coleman Group: Motherland Pulse (JMT, 1985)
- Five Elements - On the Edge of Tomorrow (JMT, 1986)
- Five Elements - Sine Die (Pangaea, 1987)
- Strata Institute (Double Trio with Greg Osby): Cipher Syntax (JMT, 1989)
- Five Elements - Rhythm People (Novus/BMG, 1990)
- Strata Institute: Transmigration (Rebel-X/Columbia, 1991)
- Five Elements - Black Science (Novus, 1991)
- Rhythm in Mind (Novus, 1991)
- M-Base Collective: Anatomy of a Groove (Rebel-X/DIW/Columbia, 1992)
- Five Elements - Drop Kick (Novus, 1992)
With Robin Eubanks
- Karma (JMT, 1991)
- Mental Images (JMT, 1994)
With Art Farmer
- Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Contemporary, 1987)
- Ph.D. (Contemporary, 1989)
With Benny Golson
- Funky Quintet – That's Funky (Arkadia Jazz, 2000)
With Gunter Hampel New York Orchestra
- Fresh Heat - Live at Sweet Basil (Birth, 1985) with Bill Frisell, Curtis Fowlkes, Bob Stewart, a.o.
With Dave Holland
- Seeds of Time (ECM, 1983)
- The Razor's Edge (ECM, 1987)
- Extensions (ECM, 1990)
With Andy Jaffe
- Manhattan Projections (Stash, 1985) with Wallace Roney and Branford Marsalis
With the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet
- Back to the City (Contemporary, 1986)
- Real Time (Contemporary, 1986)
With Carmen Lundy
- Jazz & the New Songbook: Live at the Madrid (CD and DVD, Afrasia, 2005)
With David Murray
- Children (Black Saint, 1984)
With Sonny Rollins
- Sonny Rollins Plays G-Man and Other Music for the Soundtrack of the Robert Mugge Film "Saxophone Colossus" (Milestone, 1987)
With Michel Sardaby
- Going Places (Sound Hills, 1989)
With Archie Shepp
- Soul Song (Enja, 1982)
- Down Home New York (Soul Note, 1984)
With Superblue
- Superblue 2 (Blue Note, 1989)
With Harvie Swartz, Mick Goodrick, and John Abercrombie
- Arrival (Novus, 1992)
With Gebhard Ullmann, Andreas Willers, and Bob Stewart
- Suite Noire (Nabel, 1990)
- With Terence Blanchard & Donald Harrison
- New York Second Line (The George Wein Collection)
