AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Steve Smith And Buddy's Buddies

Artist:Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies

Sonh:Nutville

Album:Very Live at Ronnie Scott's London Set Number One

Steve Smith is best known as the longtime drummer for Journey. But he has a side career as a Buddy Rich influenced jazz drummer. Like Neil Peart of Rush and the late Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, Smith makes a living in rock music but would prefer playing jazz. He was born Aug. 21, 1954 in Whitman, MA. He got his first drum kit at age two, took formal lessons from big band drummer Bill Flanagan and got his first full drum set at age 12. Needless to say, if you lived in the neighborhood, you could hear Smith practicing in a backyard shed. As a teen, he played in all kinds of bands. Smith attended Berklee in Boston and studied with jazz drummer Alan Dawson. He recorded and toured with French jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. He started his own jazz fusion band Vital Information. Then he joined Journey in 1978. Smith had three stints with Journey; 1978-85, 1995-98, 2015-20. Vital Information released their first album in 1983 and they are still active. Neil Peart invited Smith to appear at a 1991 Buddy Rich Tribute Concert in New York. Each track has a different drummer. Smith performs the Horace Silver classic Nutville. Smith started Buddy's Buddies in 1999. They record for the jazz label Tone Center. They have recorded five albums. Nutville is from the 2003 album Live at Ronnie Scott's London. This album is available as a budget CD. The second set is on a separate CD. The band performs mostly jazz standards. It's basically a Buddy Rich tribute band. Musicians are Andy Fusco on alto sax. He played with Rich from 1978-83. Steve Marcus on tenor and soprano sax was also in the Rich band. Mark Soskin on piano has recorded as a leader since 1980. Bassist Baron Browne played with Smith in the Jean-Luc Ponty band. In 2001, Modern Drummer named Smith one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time. As a member of Journey, Smith is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In recent years, Smith has concentrated on recording and touring with Vital Information. Here's Steve Smith with The Buddy Rich Tribute Band performing Nutville at the Ritz Theater in New York City July 6, 1991.