Marvin Smith

Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer.

Smith was the drummer on theThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 30 January 1995^[1] to the show's end on 29 May 2009, and the start of the second incarnation starting March 1, 2010. He was also drummer during the entire run of The Jay Leno Show.

Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. As a result, "Smitty," as he is called by fellow bandmates, was exposed to drumming at a young age, receiving formal musical training at the age of three.^[2]

Smith, an alumnus of Berklee,^[3] has recorded 200 albums with various artists, as well as two solo albums.^[1]

In addition, he also has toured with Sting, Dave Holland, Sonny Rollins, Willie Nelson and with Steve Coleman.^[1] He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet,^[2] and is in a band with Kevin Eubanks, fellow Berklee alum and Tonight Show band member. Marvin Smith is married to Kimberly Brown-Smith of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Smith is often an in-studio guest on The Loose Cannons sports radio program, on Los Angeles' KLAC-AM, often when the Tonight Show is on a vacation break.

Discography

As leader

• Keeper of the Drums (Concord Jazz, 1987)
• The Road Less Traveled (Concord Jazz, 1989)

As sideman

With Igor Butman

• Falling Out (Impromptu, 1993)

With Don Byron

• No-vibe Zone (Knitting Factory Works, 1996)

With Steve Coleman and M-Base

• Steve Coleman Group: Motherland Pulse (JMT, 1985)
• Five Elements - On the Edge of Tomorrow (JMT, 1986)
• Five Elements - Sine Die (Pangaea, 1987)
• Strata Institute (Double Trio with Greg Osby): Cipher Syntax (JMT/Polydor Japan, 1989)
• Five Elements - Rhythm People (Novus/BMG, 1990)
• Strata Institute: Transmigration (Rebel-X/Columbia, 1991)
• Five Elements - Black Science (Novus/BMG, 1991)
• Rhythm in Mind (Novus/BMG, 1991)
• M-Base Collective: Anatomy of a Groove (Rebel-X/DIW/Columbia, 1992)
• Five Elements - Drop Kick (Novus/BMG, 1992)

With Benny Golson

• Funky Quintet – That's Funky (Arkadia Jazz, 2000)

With Gunter Hampel New York Orchestra

• Fresh Heat - Live at Sweet Basil (Birth, 1985) with Bill Frisell, Curtis Fowlkes, Bob Stewart, a.o.

With Dave Holland

• Seeds of Time (ECM, 1983)
• The Razor's Edge (ECM, 1987)
• Extensions (ECM, 1990)

With Andy Jaffe

• Manhattan Projections (Stash, 1985) with Wallace Roney and Branford Marsalis

With the Jazztet

• Back to the City (Contemporary, 1986)
• Real Time (Contemporary, 1986)

With Carmen Lundy

• Jazz & the New Songbook: Live at the Madrid (CD and DVD, Afrasia, 2005)

With Michel Sardaby

• Going Places (Sound Hills, 1989)

With Archie Shepp

• Soul Song (Enja, 1982)
• Down Home New York (Soul Note, 1984)

With Superblue

• Superblue 2 (Blue Note, 1989)

With Harvie Swartz, Mick Goodrick, and John Abercrombie

• Arrival (Novus, 1992)

With Gebhard Ullmann, Andreas Willers, and Bob Stewart

• Suite Noire (Nabel, 1990)

References