Walter Smith III | Artist

Walter Smith III is an American jazz saxophonist and composer born 1980 in Houston, Texas. A forward-thinking musician with a bent toward swinging post-bop jazz and modern creative composition, Smith is one of America's new breed of highly talented tenor saxophonists. Smith, whoes father was an elementary music teacher, began playing the saxophone at the age of seven. While at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, he received a Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship. He then attended Berklee College of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Education. He later earned a Graduate Diploma at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is now the Chair of the Woodwind Department at the Berklee College of Music. As a professional musician, Smith has performed with such luminaries as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Eric Reed, and many others. In addition to performing with his own group, Smith is a member of the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet and Eric Harland's Voyager. In 2006, he released his debut album as leader, Casually Introducing and has followed up with nine studio albums and one live album. Standout releases include III (2010), Still Casual (2014), Twio (2018), Return to Casual (2023), and Live in Paris (2009). Highly regarded jazz magazine Downbeat described Smith's style in glowing terms: his tone and melodicism are just killing with a flow of ideas that’s vast and beautiful. Smith has performed in numerous national and international festivals and on stages as prestigious as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, a far cry from his very first gig as a student, which was at his local McDonalds.

Artist Website: waltersmith3.com

Featured Albums: Walter Smith III

Related Artists: Matthew Stevens, Eric Harland