Pianist/Composer Enoch Smith Jr.
To Release His 4th CD,
"The Quest: Live at APC,"
On His Misfitme Music Label,
November 11
CD Is Drawn from Two Live Sessions
Recorded at
Allentown Presbyterian Church in New Jersey,
With Bassists Noah Jackson or Mimi Jones,
Drummers John Davis or Andrew Atkinson, &
Vocalists Sarah Elizabeth Charles or Emily Braden
CD Release Show Scheduled for
Nov. 11, Club Bonafide, NYC
October 31, 2016
The Quest: Live at APC is the latest recorded chapter in composer/pianist Enoch Smith Jr.'s
ongoing search to find a seamless synthesis of jazz and gospel and a
balance between the spiritual and technical aspects of his creativity.
Smith's 4th CD as a leader and first live date will be released by his Misfitme Music label on November 11.
"It's my belief that jazz would not exist in the form it does
today if not for black gospel music and its contributors," Smith wrote
in a Woodshed column titled "Bringing the Gospel to Jazz: A Misfit's
Theme" that appeared in the September 2016 issue of Down Beat magazine.
The Rochester, New York-born, Allentown, New Jersey-based
musician -- with his acclaimed series of gospel-immersed jazz albums
(2010's Church Boy, 2011's Misfits, 2015's Misfits II: Pop, and now The Quest: Live at APC, all for Misfitme) -- is at the forefront of bringing jazz and gospel even closer together.
The Quest is drawn from two Jazz
Vespers concerts recorded in March and April 2016 at the Allentown
Presbyterian Church, where Smith has worked full time as Director of
Music and Worship for the last four years. One concert featured Smith
with bassist Mimi Jones, drummer John Davis, and rising star vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles, a veteran of Smith's previous two CDs. Bassist Noah Jackson, drummer Andrew Atkinson, and vocalist Emily Braden joined Smith on the other.
In addition to Smith's originals -- including the swinging "Wheels Up," the chant-like "Creator"
featuring Braden, and the title track with its call-and-response gospel
feel -- the program contains a rendition of Chick Corea and Neville
Potter's "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly," a feature for vocalist Charles, and the venerable hymn "Jesus Loves Me,"
heard in both instrumental and vocal versions. "They have two
completely different feels," Smith says. "I really enjoyed the place we
took that instrumental version of it."
Enoch Smith Jr.,
37, was raised in Rochester, New York in the Church of God by Faith, a
Pentecostal denomination, where he began singing at age 3 in the
children's choir. He later played drums for services, then got a chance
to sub for the regular pianist, making his way through trial and error.
"Growing up and playing mostly in church, you get a whole different side
of what music is all about," he says. "For me, it was always more of a
spiritual connection than a connection of the head."
Although he had originally intended on becoming a lawyer and
had done several internships at Rochester law firms while still in high
school, Smith decided to interview for admission at Berklee College of
Music at the suggestion of his high school choir director. He was
accepted on the spot. "It was amazing and intimidating and exciting all
at the same time," he says of his classes at Berklee. "I definitely saw
that I didn't fit into the mold. I felt like a misfit.
"The transition from playing primarily by ear and then
learning theory opened my mind to different approaches, devices, and
things that I could use musically to expand or make my playing more
interesting," he adds. "That was the plus side. I think the down side of
it is when you get so focused on technique and technical things, it can
pull you away from the more spiritual side of life and what brought me
to the instrument and things that were naturally expressed. I'm working
my way back to where I can play with the same feeling that I had when I
started."
Smith continues working full time at Allentown Presbyterian Church,
where his duties include playing piano, composing original music,
directing music programs for children of all ages, and creating Power
Point presentations for services. He has recorded as a sideman with
bassist Mimi Jones, saxophonist Stantawn Kendrick, drummer Reggie Quinerly, and saxophonist-singer Camille Thurman, among others, and since the summer of 2016 has been touring as an organist with fast-rising blues-and-soul singer-saxophonist Vanessa Collier.
Besides appearing in clubs in the New York City area and in
Detroit, he has performed at the Barbados and New Rochelle jazz
festivals and has composed music for independent filmmaker Nefertiti
Nguvu's short I Want You in 2007 and her 2014 feature In the Morning.
Photography: Aleksandr Rhoad
Web Site: MisfitMe.com
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