Neddy Smith: A Widening Of Musical Gates

This Wednesday at The 9th Note Jazz Supper Club in Stamford, Neddy Smith and the East/West Trio will perform selections from Blue Monday, his more laid-back follow-up to 2013’s Mood Swing.

 A spirited delver into Jazz, Funk, Latin and other Western musical forms, with Blue, Neddy casts the net wider than ever for cosmopolitan inspiration. “The blending of various sonic expressions from the Orient, mixed with Middle Eastern influences… combined with my Jamaican/Caribbean roots and other (influences)… has prepared me for this album,” Neddy enthuses, a PoemAlley participant who operates NedGJean International Inc., his Norwalk-based recording studio, out of which he also maintains his own label. An instructor and coach, Neddy is a member of the Recording Academy and AFM Local 802.

Neddy has led TransWave, Neddy Smith and Friends and other ensembles over the years in his energetic forays into different genres. Below is a video of "Bursting Out" (2011), recorded live at Smash Studios in New York City:

 

 

Tracks like “The Eastern Gate” and “The Lotus Tree” (a live performance) bespeak the meditative approach Neddy sought for his new release, a departure from Mood Swing’s pronounced “rhythmic overdrive”. At the same time, the process of creating the CD, itself, communicated its divergent form, with the input of his friend and past collaborator, pianist Dr. Michiro Negishi and flutist Maddy Hertz: “the subtle melodic lines… defin(ing) the mood of (the) majority of the tracks… directed me more towards a Trio sound,” including Neddy's own signature bass contributions.

Click here to learn more about Neddy and his work; you can listen to album selections and order Blue Monday at CD Baby here.     

When:

8pm
February 3, 2016

Where:
The 9^th Note Jazz Supper Club
15 Bank Street
Stamford, CT 06901

Contact:

203-504-8828

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...

... and below, a clip from Steve DeTroy (performing with his band), one of the 17 artists contributing their musical passion to the charity event:

Find out about Neddy’s new album in the works, Bursting Out, along with his other activities and services, at NedGJean International.

When:

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Noon-6 PM

Where:

DoubleTree Hotel

789 Connecticut Avenue

Norwalk, CT 06854

Contact:

Neddy Smith

Phone: 203-838-3959

Email: info@nedgjean.com