Joe Smith (31)

Jazz drummer. Joe was born in Galesburg, Illinois, a small town west of Chicago. He studied Classical percussion and Jazz drumming at the Cincinnati Conservatory, the Manhattan School of Music and privately with Vernel Fournier, Jimmy Lovelace, John Von Olen, John Riley and Jeff Williams. From 1991 until 2000, Joe lived in New York City playing with and learning from many of the best musicians the scene had to offer and formed his first group Initium Ensemble. After moving to Barcelona in 2000, he released two disc’s as a leader. Happy (2002) and Melodic Workshop (2004)(Fresh sound records) which features Bill McHenry, Gorka Benitez, Guillermo Klein, Chris Lightcap and Jorge Rossy. Joe has been a featured sideman on the recordings of John McNeil, Arthur Kell, Ryan Blotnick, Fredrik Carlquist, Brandon Miller and many others.