Marvin Smith


Marvin "Smitty" Smith is an American jazz drummer and composer.
Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musical training at the age of three.
After graduating from Waukegan East High School, Smith attended Berklee, graduating in 1981. Smith has recorded 200 albums with various artists, as well as two solo albums. He belongs to the founding members of the M-Base collective, sharing the drummer's seat with Mark Johnson. He recorded and toured in different line-ups especially with Steve Coleman, with whom he also was part of the Dave Holland Quintet in the early 1980s. He has toured with, among others, Sting, Sonny Rollins, and Willie Nelson. He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet, and was the drummer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno band, led by Kevin Eubanks, from January 30, 1995 until the show's end on May 29, 2009. Smith was also the drummer for the Jay Leno Show band in 2009-10.

Discography

As leader

  • Keeper of the Drums
  • ''The Road Less Traveled''

    As sideman

With Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison
With Hamiet Bluiett
  • Ebu
With Joanne Brackeen
  • Turnaround
With Igor Butman
  • Falling Out
With Donald Byrd
  • Harlem Blues
With Don Byron
  • No-vibe Zone
With Michel Camilo
  • One More Once
With Steve Coleman and M-Base
  • Steve Coleman Group: Motherland Pulse
  • Five Elements – On the Edge of Tomorrow
  • Five Elements – Sine Die
  • Strata Institute : Cipher Syntax
  • Five Elements – Rhythm People
  • Strata Institute : Transmigration
  • Five Elements – Black Science
  • Rhythm in Mind
  • M-Base Collective: Anatomy of a Groove
  • Five Elements – Drop Kick
With Larry Coryell
  • Shining Hour
With Art Davis
  • A Time Remembered
With Ray Drummond
  • Excursion
  • Continuum
With Robin Eubanks
  • Karma
  • Mental Images
With Art Farmer
With Frank Foster and Frank Wess
  • Two for the Blues
  • Frankly Speaking
With Benny Golson
With Gunter Hampel New York Orchestra
With John Hicks
  • Beyond Expectations
With Dave Holland
  • Seeds of Time
  • The Razor's Edge
  • Extensions
With Andy Jaffe
With the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet
With Carmen Lundy
  • Jazz & the New Songbook: Live at the Madrid
With Buddy Montgomery
  • Ties of Love
With Ralph Moore
  • Rejuvenate!
With David Murray
  • Children
With David "Fathead" Newman
With Joe Newman and Joe Wilder
  • Hangin' Out
With Emily Remler
  • East To Wes
With Sonny Rollins
With Michel Sardaby
  • Going Places
With Archie Shepp
  • Soul Song
  • Down Home New York
With Superblue
  • Superblue 2
With Harvie Swartz, Mick Goodrick, and John Abercrombie
  • Arrival
With McCoy Tyner
  • Prelude and Sonata
With Gebhard Ullmann, Andreas Willers, and Bob Stewart
  • Suite Noire
With Bobby Watson
  • Love Remains
With Tommy Ward