PoemAlley: Bursting Out At DoubleTree

Tomorrow’s “A Day of Contemporary Music” at the DoubleTree Hotel in Norwalk will feature Debbie Hawkins, Rachel Carruthers, Steve DeTroy and nearly 20 other jazz performers over the course of six hours of live music, beginning at noon.

Organized by musician and enthusiastic PoemAlley member Neddy Smith, this festival is held in support of the local food bank (be sure to bring a non-perishable item along with a suggested donation of $15).

Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Neddy grew up immersed in the music of Motown, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and the Montego Bay Boys & Girls Club, among many other influences. Falling deeply in love with Funk, Jazz and Latin grooves, as well as regional Jamaican music, Neddy began working professionally in the 1970s with numerous acts prior to heading The Banana Boat Club with singing sensations Alvin J. Brown and Sweeney Williams and went on to study with acclaimed pianist and Julliard graduate, the late Cecil Lloyd, to whom Neddy credits advancing his education in Jazz--especially in regard to musical theory, arrangement and composition.

Neddy Smith jamming with friends

Subsequent tutelage under renowned guitarist Ernest Ranglin ingrained in Neddy the value of stretching bass performance to its creative limits at a young age—an infectiously creative ethos he has translated into all his later endeavors, spanning music instruction, live programming and broadcast graphics, as well as the original songs compiled in 2008's Turnaround. The pulsing reggae/rock foundation of “Walking Talking (with my friends on the street)” makes the song a particular highlight of the album. Here’s the original unreleased 1987 video version, performed by Neddy with his band Transwave...