Sean Smith (bassist)

For other uses, see Sean Smith (disambiguation).

Sean Smith
Leon Parker and Sean Smith (left) in the trio of Jacky Terrasson 2007
Background information
Birth name	Sean Smith
Born	1965 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres	Modern jazz
Occupations	Musician composer
Instrument	Double bass
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Progressive Records Chiaroscuro Records Ambient Smithereen Records
Website	www.seansmithjazz.com

Sean Smith (born 1965 in Greenwich, Connecticut) is an American modern jazz double bassist and composer. According to Judith Schlesinger of AllMusic, written in early 2000s, the "pitch-perfect, fluid, and elegant bassist" bassist is one of the most employed musicians in the international jazz scene.

Early life and education

Sean Smith was born in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1965. He began learning the Alto saxophone in the fourth grade, then switched to the electric bass and played rock and roll, before finally finding the double bass in high school and engaging with jazz music. His influences were Miles Davis and Weather Report, especially Wayne Shorter and Jaco Pastorius. In 1990, he completed his studies at the Manhattan School of Music and had already been working in the New York jazz scene since the early 1980s.

Career

Smith made his first recordings in 1984, with guitarist Greg Packham. In the following years, he played with Allen Lowe (For Poor B.B. and Others …), Virginia Mayhew, Richard Peaslee, and with pianist Bill Charlap, with whom he recorded a duo album in 1993 featuring standards like “Donna Lee”, “Darn That Dream”, and “When Your Lover Has Gone”. He also worked in the 1990s with Jon Gordon, Bob Kindred, Carol Sloane, Flip Phillips, Bill Mays, Peter Leitch, Gene Bertoncini, Mark Murphy, and Brian Browne.

In 1999, his debut album Sean Smith Quartet Live was recorded on the SS Norway; his quartet consisted of Allen Mezquida (alto saxophone), Bill Charlap, and Ron Vincent (drums). Two other albums under his own name followed. From the 2000s, he contributed to recordings by Jacky Terrasson, Frank Vignola & Joe Ascione (The Frank & Joe Show, among others with Dr. John), Anita O'Day, John Stetch, Rigmor Gustafsson, Eddie Higgins, Daniel Guggenheim, and Amy London. In the jazz field, he participated in 57 recording sessions between 1984 and 2018, most recently (2018) with Renee Rosnes.

Smith also composes music for films.

Awards and honors

Smith received a Bistro Award in 2007 as an outstanding instrumentalist. His ensemble was awarded the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in 2015. The song “Song for the Geese” composed by Smith is the title track of an album by Mark Murphy, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album Into the Blue by Emmanuel Pahud and Jacky Terrasson, in which he participated as a bassist, was also nominated for a Grammy.

Selected discography

• Bill Charlap & Sean Smith (Progressive Records, 1993)
• Gene Bertoncini with Bill Charlap and Sean Smith (Chiaroscuro Records, 1996)
• Peter Brainin / Steve Johns Feat. Ben Monder & Sean Smith: Ceremony (Cats Paw Records, 1998)
• CCQt: Ontology (New Artists, 1998), with Richard Tabnik, Connie Crothers, Sean Smith, Roger Mancuso
• Poise (Ambient, 2001), with Allen Mezquida (as), Bill Charlap, Keith Ganz (g), Russell Meissner (dr)
• Trust (Smithereen, 2010), with John Ellis, John Hart
• The Humanity Quartet: Humanity (Cellar Live, 2014), with Joel Frahm, Peter Bernstein, Sean Smith, Leon Parker

External links

• Official website
• Sean Smith at AllMusic
• Sean Smith discography at Discogs