Ira Nathaniel Smith (born December 14, 1974) is an American drummer, songwriter, producer, and three-time Grammy nominee.

Life and career

Smith was born in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

, and started playing drums at age 11, initially influenced by rock and funk music. At 16, he developed an interest in jazz after listening to '' Album of the Year'' by

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

and the

Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

. Smith studied media art and design at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

. While at James Madison, he performed at the Conference of the

International Association for Jazz Education International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), formerly a not-for-profit corporation based in Manhattan, Kansas, was a volunteer-run organization that, among other things, allocated student scholarships through its approved festivals program ...

in Atlanta, where he met

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

, who invited him to joint performances at the Blue Note in New York City. Smith went to graduate school at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

, where he met

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

and joined Holland's quintet in 2003. Smith appears on the albums ''

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...

'' (2005) and '' Pathways'' (2009). In 2017, he released his first album as leader, ''Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere'' on

Ropeadope Records Ropeadope Records is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including jazz, hip hop, gospel, and electronic music. The label, now led by Louis Marks, was founded in 1999 by Andy HurwitzAndy Hurwitz"Ropeadope carves i ...

. In 2018 Smith cowrote and performed in the self-titled, debut EP release from the

Vulfpeck Vulfpeck is an American funk band founded in 2011 by Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss and Joe Dart. The band has released four extended plays, five studio albums and a live album, having released all of their music independently. The ba ...

spin-off group 'The Fearless Flyers', later going on a US tour with the group and releasing a second such EP in 2019. Smith has composed soundtracks for broadcast documentaries on

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

and

The Learning Channel TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the own ...

. He co-wrote and produced the Michael Jackson song "Heaven Can Wait".

Discography

As leader

* ''Workday, Waterbaby Music Vol. 1'' (Waterbaby Music, 2008) * ''Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere'' (Ropeadope, 2017) * ''Pocket Change'' (Waterbaby Music, 2018) * ''Light and Shadow'' (Waterbaby Music, 2020) * ''Kinfolk 2: See the Birds'' (Edition Records, 2021)

As sideman

With

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

* ''Klassik Rock Vol. 1'' (ArtistShare, 2014) * ''More Than Meets the Ear'' (ArtistShare, 2015) With

* ''

'' (Dare2, 2006) * '' Pathways'' (Dare2, 2010) With

Jose James Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

* ''Love in a Time of Madness'' (Blue Note, 2017) * ''Lean on Me'' (Blue Note, 2018) With Chris Potter * ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

'' (Sunnyside, 2006) * '' Follow the Red Line'' (Sunnyside, 2007) * '' Ultrahang'' (ArtistShare, 2009) * ''

Imaginary Cities Imaginary Cities was a Canadian indie pop duo based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The project consisted of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas, formerly of The Waking Eyes and a sometime collaborator of The Weakerthans, and vocalist Marti Sarbit.

'' (ECM, 2015) With others *

Patricia Barber Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist. Biography Barber's father Floyd was a jazz saxophonist who played with Bud Freeman and Glenn Miller. She played saxophone and piano from a young ...

, ''The Cole Porter Mix'' (Blue Note, 2008) *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

, ''Randy Pop!'' (Piloo, 2015) * Scott Colley, ''Seven'' (ArtistShare, 2017) *

Nir Felder Nir Felder (born Dec 30, 1982) is a Grammy-winning American jazz and session guitarist, composer, and music producer. In addition to leading his own band, Felder has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists across the jazz and popu ...

, ''Golden Age'' (Okeh, 2014) * Takuya Kuroda, ''Rising Son'' (Blue Note, 2014) *

Monday Michiru is a Japanese American actress, singer, and songwriter whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz, dance, pop, and soul. She is arguably best known for being a pioneer of the acid jazz movement in Japan in the ...

, ''Don't Disturb This Groove'' (Grand Gallery, 2011) *

Eric Roberson Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represen ...

, ''Fire'' (Blue Erro Soul, 2017) * Adam Rogers, ''Dice'' (Adraj, 2017) * Karel Ruzicka, ''Grace & Gratitude'' (Animal Music, 2018) *

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

, ''

In the Blue Light ''In the Blue Light'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Produced by Paul Simon and Roy Halee, it was released on September 7, 2018, through Legacy Recordings. The album consists of re-record ...

'' (Legacy 2018) *

Alex Sipiagin Alex Sipiagin (born June 11, 1967) is a Russian jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. Biography Sipiagin was born on June 11, 1967. He moved from Russia to the U.S. in 1990. His first major job in the U.S. was with the Gil Evans Band. He has p ...

, ''Live at Smalls'' (Smalls, 2013) * Somi, ''Petite Afrique'' (Okeh, 2017) *

The Fearless Flyers Vulfpeck is an American funk band founded in 2011 by Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss and Joe Dart. The band has released four extended plays, five studio albums and a live album, having released all of their music Independent music, indep ...

, ''The Fearless Flyers'' (Vulf Records 2018), ''The Fearless Flyers II'' (Vulf Records 2019), ''Tailwinds'' (Vulf Records, 2020), ''The Fearless Flyers III'' (Vulf Records, 2022) *

Brittany Howard Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter known for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter of rock bands Alabama Shakes, Thunderbitch, and Bermuda Triangle. Her work wi ...

, ''

Jaime Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...

'' (ATO Records 2019)

Equipment

Nate endorses Zildjian cymbals, Ludwig drums, Vic firths sticks/mallets/beaters, and Evans drumheads.

References

External links

Nate Smith – WWVT-FM interview
(2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nate 1974 births Living people 21st-century American drummers African-American drummers American session musicians Musicians from Virginia 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people