AVAILABLE AT iTUNES!! GUEST ARTISTS: STANLEY CLARKE, DAVID SANCHEZ AND DENNIS CHAMBERS

NICK SMITHJAZZ PIANISTFEATURING HIS CURRENT CD RELEASE"IT'S LIKE THAT"
Nick Smith was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the ninth of ten children born to Betty and James Smith. From the age of nine to sixteen, Nick and his brothers, known as Transformation, played at various Cleveland locales. After he reached sixteen, Nick formed his own band, Art Effect. He developed a following and played at several Cleveland clubs until he went to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, where he studied Jazz Composition.

Nick chose to be a Jazz Pianist because Jazz is a spiritual, versatile, and challenging art form. His playing style is precise, free flowing, and rhythmically diverse. Not only is Nick an outstanding Jazz performer, he can also play soul, funk, country and western, rock, and pop. He is a musician's musician-believing that there are only two types of music, good music and bad music. He also believes that older musicians should reach out to younger musicians to promote their interest in the fundamentals of great music and provide guidance in increasing their skills.

Nick has toured with various artists, including Stanley Clarke, Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Kenny Garrett, Kirk Whalum, George Duke, Roy Ayers, Brandy, Kenny Lattimore, Donald Byrd, Michel Polnareff, and Dianne Reeves. For almost ten years, Nick toured with Stanley Clarke and worked on the Showtime series Soul Food and several movie projects. Some of the movies include Higher Learning, Eddie, Sprung, Funny Valentine, and The Color of Friendship. Nick also worked with bassist Robert Hurst on the music for the motion picture, Brown Sugar. In 1995, Nick appeared nightly on the Tonight Show featuring Jay Leno.

After leaving the Tonight Show, Nick built a home studio and began recording. He has composed enough music to complete several CD's and is currently working on three CD projects.

To learn more about Nick Smith and to purchase his CD "It's Like That" go to www.nicksmithmusic.com.


Jaijai and Nick chat a bit....
Jaijai: As a musician, what would you do if you lost electricity?

Nick: If I lost power I would continue to play the rest of the show on a piano—that is if one is provided. Otherwise I will get up and dance because the show must go on. Today, we have all of this great technology available to us and I have found that many musicians cannot function without electronic gadgets. But it is important for a musician to be able to play both acoustic and electronic instruments.

Jaijai: I hear you are a very powerful musician and are a bit of a musical renegade, is that true and can you explain why people catagorize you this way?

As far as being a powerful musician I am just trying to share Gods Gift. In the process of sharing Gods Gift I maintain that I should take names and leave no prisoners. I am a throwback more than a renegade. I say this because to old school musicians the music was the most important thing. I passionately feel that this is true. In my efforts to maintain the highest level of dedication to the music, sometimes I come off as being hard and truthfully, I have been hard in the past. But I have never been harder on anyone than I have been on myself. If I see a way that another musician can improve his or her skills I feel that it is my duty as a proponent of the “let’s create the best music school” to pass on the knowledge that would help them improve. And some people see this willingness to aid by giving constructive criticism as a negative personality trait.

Jaijai: If you were to be endorsed by any instrument companies who would they be and why?

Nick: Acoustic—Fazioli Piano is my favorite piano. Not only is it a gorgeous piece of furniture, the sound and the feel are absolutely amazing and to top it of we share Italian heritage.

Electronics—I love the Kurzweil PC3X. I have used Kurzweil keyboards since 1995. To me Kurzweil makes the best performance/controller keyboard today.

Jaijai: You bring many talents to the fold of music, what areas of the music business do you often get called upon for collaborations and are available to lend your expertise to?

Nick: I have done music for TV and film productions and I have co-produced with other artists. It has often been said that I have an uncanny ability to simulate the actual phrasing and techniques of other instruments on the keyboard. I have also been called upon to tour with various artists both in the capacity of main soloist and parts player. I make myself available to collaborating in songwriting, recording, producing other artists, clinics and seminars as well music direction and piano instruction.

Jaijai: It is my pleasure to present you and your brilliant artistry to The Jazz Network worldwide and know that many will be reaching out to you for all of the areas of business that you make yourself available for, thank you for being a part of our jazz family and for what you pour into the world! May your current release "It's Like That" be a great sucess for you for its a powerful piece of work! God Bless your musical journey!