Ches Smith

Ches Smith is an American musician, whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone.
He recorded and performed an album of his own solo percussion pieces entitled Congs for Brums. In 2010 he released Noise to Men.

Biography

Smith was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Sacramento. After studying philosophy at the University of Oregon, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995. He studied composition, improvisation and percussion with Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, William Winant and Alvin Curran. In 1999, he toured with Mr. Bungle.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

2006 – Congs for Brums
2010 – Noise to Men & Congs for Brums
2010 – Finally Out of My Hands & These Arches
2012 – Psycho Predictions & Congs for Brums
2013 – Hammered & These Arches
2014 – International Hoohah & These Arches
2016 – The Bell Trio w Craig Taborn, Mat Maneri
2018 – A Complete and Tonal Disaster & Congs for Brums
2021 – Path of Seven Colors & We All Break
2022 – Interpret It Well
2024 – Laugh Ash
2025 – ''Clone Row''
As sideman

;with Tim Berne

2012 – Snakeoil
2013 – Shadow Man
2015 – You've Been Watching Me
2015 – Spare
2017 – Incidentals
2020 – The Fantastic Mrs. 10
2020 – The Deceptive 4
2022 - Decay

;with Trevor Dunn's trio-convulsant

2004 – Sister Phantom Owl Fish

;with Mary Halvorson

2008 - Dragon's Head
2010 - Saturn Sings
2012 - Bending Bridges
2013 - Illusionary Sea
2013 - Ghost Loop
2016 - Away With You

;with Moe! Staiano

2001 – The Lateness of Yearly Presentations

;with Moe! Staiano's Moe!kestra!

2006 – An Inescapable Siren Within Earshot Distance Therein and Other Whereabouts
2007 – Two Rooms of Uranium Inside 83 Markers

;with Graham Connah

2001 – The Only Song We Know

;with Good For Cows

2001 – Good for Cows
2003 – Cows Less Than or Equal To
2004 – Bebop Fantasy
2008 – 10th Concert Anniversary
2010 – Audumla

;with Theory Of Ruin

2002 – Counter–Culture Nosebleed
2003 – Frontline Posterchild

;with Mitch Marcus Quintet

2002 – Entropious

;with Lou Harrison

2003 – Drums Along the Pacific

;with John Zorn

2003 – Voices in the Wilderness
2016 – The Painted Bird
2018 – The Urmuz Epigrams
2018 – In a Convex Mirror
2020 – Les Maudits
2021 – Heaven and Earth Magick
2022 – Incerto
2022 – Suite For Piano

;with Xiu Xiu

2002 – Knife Play with Greg Saunier
2003 – A Promise
2005 – La Foret
2007 – Remixed and Covered as Good for Cows
2008 – Women as Lovers
2010 – Dear God I Hate Myself
2012 – Always
2013 – Nina

;with David Torn

2019 – Sun Of Goldfinger
2020 – Sun Of Goldfinger
2022 - Ozmir

;with Secret Chiefs 3

2004 – Book of Horizons
2008 – Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9
2013 – Book of Souls: Folio A
2019 – The Book Beri'ah Vol 10—Malkhut

;with Aaron Novik

2004 – Gubbish: Notations in Tonations
2006 – Kipple: Flashes of Irrational Happiness

;with Redressers

2004 – To Each According...

;with Carla Bozulich/Evangelista

2009 – Prince of Truth
2011 – In Animal Tongue
2014 – I'm Gonna Stop Killing

;with Will Bernard Trio

2005 – Directions to My House

;with Fever Pitch

2005 – Just Drums 2 Project

;with Sean Hayes

2006 – Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star

;with Todd Sickafoose

2006 – Blood Orange

;with Ben Goldberg Quintet

2006 – The Door, the Hat, the Chair, the Fact

;with 7 Year Rabbit Cycle

2006 – Ache Horns

;with Fred Frith, Darren Johnston, Devin Hoff and Larry Ochs

2007 – Reason to Move

;with Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog

2008 – Party Intellectuals
2013 – Your Turn
2018 – YRU Still Here?
2020 - What I Did On My Long 'Vacation'
2021 - Hope
2023 - Connection

;with Leonid Fedorov, Vladimir Volkov, John Medeski, Marc Ribot

2010 – RazinRimILev

;with Dave Holland

2018 – Uncharted Territories

;with Moonface

2018 – ''This One's for the Dancer & This One's for the Dancer's Bouquet''

Ches Smith

Biography

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman