Catching Up With Steve Smith - LIVE! One Great Night -

[tater1977]

Friday, June 1, 2012

Catching Up With Steve Smith - LIVE! One Great Night - The Interview

http://www.criticaljazz.com/


Does it ever get frustrating to have a critic or any media type consistently toss in "former Journey drummer" when Vital Information has been around as long or in some cases longer then most rock super groups and how do you account for the bands longevity and consistently high level of creativity over the years?

S.S. - "I don’t get frustrated when some writers refer to me as having been a member of Journey. It’s true that I did play with the group during its most prolific incarnation and it’s a way for some people to identify me. In the early years of my career after Journey it did bother me, because I felt I had to prove I was more than “the drummer from Journey,” but over the years I have developed a strong identity as an accomplished musician separate from my work with Journey.
As for Vital Information’s longevity it comes down to my perseverance and focus. I maintain high standards of musicianship for myself and I’ve been able to find some excellent players who also want a high-level musical experience and the opportunity to tour and record."

Live! One Great Night is one of the finest live CD+DVD packages I have seen across any genre. There is variety, texture, swing, odd meter but nothing ever borders on self-indulgent it is simply great music played at an incredibly high level. How did this project come about?

S.S. -"With Vital Information’s 30th Anniversary coming up I started looking for documentation of different periods in the bands history. One gig that I remembered was a web cast that we did at a small venue in Oregon. Not knowing if there was a recording or video of that show I wrote numerous emails and made many calls and finally found someone that had the recording. We made a rough mix and I could hear that it we played very well that night. I had a final mix made and was going to release that on BFM Jazz as a live album. The artwork was finished and we were ready to go, then someone found a copy of the web cast. It was in black & white, not HD, but it captured the energy of the performance. We decided to add the DVD to package to give people more value. We had to push back the release date but I feel it was worth it.

Sometimes when you know you are recording a live album, you tend to play “safe.” We were totally relaxed that night and weren’t thinking about making a recording. We were truly in the moment and the creativity flowed."

As a critic, I have often said paralysis by analysis is killing jazz. No other genre of music I can think of dissects itself to the same degree. Critics speaking of Vital Information call it fusion, jazz-rock, post-modern fusion and I really don't think anyone gets it right and it drives them nuts. How would you define the music of Vital Information?

S.S - "The music of Vital Information has changed

Catching Up With Steve Smith LIVE! One Great Night Interview Part 2


You are a master technician but as they DVD shows, an incredibly lyrical drummer in the style of say a Max Roach...Strictly as a drummer where do your influence come from. I think I hear some Max Roach....I think I hear some middle eastern influence in some of the rhythmic patterns. Can you shed a little light on this or are you simply a cultural byproduct of your own experience?


The answer is all of the above and more. Of course my main influences comes from where and when I was born and grew up which was the Boston area and I was a teenager in the late 60s and early 70s. I gravitated toward big band music in my early years and saw the big bands of Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Count Basie as well as rock groups like Led Zeppelin, Mountain and Grand Funk. Then I saw electric Miles, Billy Cobham’s first band, Tony Williams New Lifetime, Weather Report, Larry Coryell’s 11th House, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters.
At Berklee I discovered Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Papa Jo Jones and Rashid Ali. I played a lot of big band and small group jazz while living in Boston from ’72-’76. From ’76-‘85 I played jazz/fusion with Jean-Luc Ponty, rock/fusion with Ronnie Montrose and rock with Journey so those experience formed the rock side of my playing. Joining Steps Ahead in 1986 and then playing with Ahmad Jamal were also major learning experiences. You put that all together plus the hours spent listening, studying, transcribing and practicing you get some insight into my development. The melodic/lyrical approach of Max is something that really speaks to me and I think he got a lot of his influence from Art Blakey. Art played thematically, which I think influenced Max to make his innovations. As I mentioned before I’ve been studying with, and playing with, many Indian musicians, which gives me another perspective on rhythm.

What is the future holding for Steve Smith and Vital Information and what was the name of the last disc you purchased jazz or otherwise?


S.S - "I have another version of the group called Vital Information NYC Edition with Vinny Valentino and Baron Browne along with Andy Fusco on alto and Mark Soskin on keyboards. We have recently recorded a new live album and a new studio album with that group. We’ll release those next year and do some touring with that group. I’ve also been doing some touring with Hiromi, who is absolutely an amazing musician, and next year I’ll be playing with a new version of Steps Ahead helping Mike Mainieri celebrate his 75th birthday!

As far as my latest purchases, I buy a lot of music in three different formats: some downloads, some CDs and some vinyl. In the past couple of weeks I bought Marilyn Mazur’s “Celestial Circle,” Jeff Hamilton’s “Red Sparkle” (on CD), Black Keys “El Camino” and Dr. John “Locked Down” (vinyl), Robert Glasper “Black Radio,” Herbie Hancock “Thrust,” and Lenny White “The Adventures of Astral Pirates.” (download)"