Kevin Smith (born February 20, 1956, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois) is an American composer, arranger, producer, vocalist and keyboardist who is Chicago-based. He is a current member of the rhythm and blues band known as the

Chicago Catz Chicago Catz is a Chicago, Illinois area cover band that was formed in 1986 by five noteworthy musicians. Approaching their third decade, "The Catz", as they are affectionately known, have become one of the Windy City's most established profession ...

Biography

Musical education and influences

As a child, Smith always listened to the music around him, from church broadcasts with his grandmother to television shows like

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

, Shindig!, Rock Concert, Midnight Special, and Lawrence Welk. On the radio, he heard jazz, country, rock & roll, classical and R&B. When he was about seven or eight a neighbor had a piano and Smith learned boogie-woogie in F sharp and " Heart & Soul" in C by ear. He started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade, when he learned to read music. He attended

Thornwood High School Thornwood High School is a public high school located in South Holland, Illinois, United States. It was built as part of Thornton Township High School District 205. It opened in 1971 to accommodate overcrowding at other District 205 schools, Thorn ...

, then

Kishwaukee College Kishwaukee College is a public community college in Malta, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and serves District 523, which encompasses most of DeKalb County, and parts of Lee, Ogle and La Salle counties. History ...

and Northern Illinois University. Kevin's musical influences are

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Clarence Wheeler Clarence E. Wheeler (September 27, 1885 – December 28, 1966) was an American musician and composer. He created the music for many of ''Woody Woodpecker'' series cartoons under Walter Lantz Productions along with films in the 1950s. Biography Wh ...

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

, Quincy Jones,

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, George Clinton,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, as well as the television shows '' Hee Haw'', ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', ''

Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titl ...

'', '' The Gary Moore Show'', and '' Jubilee Showcase''. His musical style is considered eclectic. Having been exposed to so many differing genres and styles, he likes to (when possible) mix it up stylistically. Most of the projects he has worked on are R&B oriented, but he appreciates the sophisticated harmonies of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, nice string arrangements and "rocked out" guitars whenever possible. The aspect of music Smith prefers is the ability to express emotions vocally or instrumentally. He has a background in sound design and likes to employ sound effects as well as music to convey a feeling.

Early career

Smith's father managed a band that Kevin and his sister and brother performed in. They did gigs all over the Chicago area playing clubs and private parties during high school years. Out of this musical family, Kevin was the only one that decided to go professional.

Later career

In 1985, Smith worked with

as the arranger on the album ''Save Tonight For Me'' Mangione was one of Smith's biggest influences as an arranger and to spend time collaborating with one of the masters was one of the most inspiring moments of his career. Smith undertook three tours of Italy in 2004, 2005, and 2007 with the traditional gospel group, Tecora Rogers & The Chicago Spirituals. He has performed in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, Bahamas, Washington, D.C., with the Chicago Catz. He taught Commercial Music Production at Columbia College in their marketing department. He also has substituted as a music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. Smith has led music therapy groups for the Thresholds Organization in Chicago. He currently teaches keyboard/theory privately when not playing with the Chicago Catz and as a sideman in several other musical projects.

Current musical associations

Me has worked with many musicians and session recording artists including the

, "Downtown" Tony Brown,

Richie Davis Richard Curtis "Richie" Davis is a retired American defensive back who played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1970. He was part of their Grey Cup championship team. Davis was drafted by the Detroit Lions ...

, Mark Ohlsen, Wayne Stewart, David Gross, Josie Aiello, Devin Thompson, James A. Perkins Jr., and Tony "Toca" Carpenter.

Biography

Musical education and influences

Early career

Later career

Current musical associations

Discography

Albums

References

External links