Drummer’s drummer Steve Smith has manned the kit for – well, most everyone.
He played with Ronnie Montrose, recorded with Jean-Luc Ponty and then Dutch prog group Focus, then replaced Aynsley Dunbar in Journey, contributing to that band’s huge success in the 1970s and ’80s. He’s led his own jazz-oriented groups (Vital Information and Buddy’s Buddies, which morphed into Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy), played with Steps Ahead, Mariah Carey, Larry Coryell, Jerry Goodman, Tony McAlpine and a host of other rock, pop and jazz luminaries. He contributed to Neal Peart’s tributes to Buddy Rich alongside the likes of Bill Bruford.
Named No. 1 All-Around Drummer by Modern Drummer magazine five years in a row, he’s now in that magazine’s hall of fame as well as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
We asked Steve Smith to name the albums that shaped his career:
BUDDY RICH AND MAX ROACH – RICH VERSUS ROACH (1959): I’d start with this battle of the bands. It was recorded in 1959 with Buddy’s small group and Max flew in from the Midwest. At a young age, this had a powerful effect on me. I was already a Buddy Rich fan, and this album introduced me to Max. They had different approaches: Buddy’s snare chops and Max played melodically, lyrically. I loved Max’s approach.
HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS: The music I gravitated to was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. I saw them live at the [Boston] Garden; the opening band was Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. It was Nick Ceroli [on drums], but Hal Blaine played on the records. I enjoyed that sound, and Dixieland, Al Hirt and Pete Fountain.
VARIOUS JAZZ-ROCK AND ROCK MUSIC: Around 1967, I started to listen to rock music, the Dave Clark Five, the British Invasion. I heard Are You Experienced, Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chase – I got to see all those groups. Then Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, Dreams with Billy Cobham, the Brecker Brothers and John Abercrombie. It all just seemed like modern jazz to me.
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