It’s maybe no surprise that New York-based Jonah Smith came into his own as singer/songwriter/pianist in the world’s biggest melting pot. Check in with Smith in a subterranean Downtown jazz club, sit for a while and listen to him play—his hat cocked sideways, his manner shy, his humor dry—and you’ll see that he, like New York, is a little bit of everything: a seasoned player, he’s a little bit jazz; a heartfelt vocalist, he’s definitely soul; a talented balladeer and storyteller, he’s even a little Nashville. Yet, essentially, at its essence, it’s rock and roll.
Smith’s a throwback, for sure, and there’s something very familiar about his music, but it doesn’t really sound like anything you’ve heard before. It does, however, sound very of the moment. His voice soulful and magnetic and his songs awash in the warm, distinctive tones of his Fender Rhodes, Smith writes songs that sound brand new. It’s what’s earned him rave reviews in New York and up the East Coast: “The music industry meets its future,” wrote The New York Post. Smith’s music was dubbed “striking” by The Boston Globe, and “sophisticated and soulful” by Modern Drummer. During a recent tour of Spain, La Vanguardia called Smith “one of the most important voices in modern soul music.”
Tastefully rootsy and endlessly soulful, Smith’s self-titled debut—the premier release from Relix Records—ranges from vintage, pedal steel-laced Americana to classic, Rhodes-drenched, blue-eyed soul. Some, like the funky, smoky and sweet single “When We Say Goodnight,” are something else entirely.
“I just try to let the song be what it wants to be,” Smith says. “If I have a melody that’s really strong, I’m not worried about it being too simple.” It’s the approach he used when writing “My Morning Scene,” the track that secured him the talents of his dream producer Lee Townsend. “The day that I signed the contracts with Relix, Townsend called me and said that he had checked out my MP3 [for ‘My Morning Scene’] and that he thought we could work well together - that there was a lot of common ground.”
Some written simply and spontaneously in his head, the songs on his Relix Records debut disc find Smith transitioning into a more song-oriented period. Previously, he might have been a little too focused on the playing on individual tracks. But if is earlier work was perhaps music for other musicians, these are songs that everyone can love and get into.
It’s a change in direction that was hinted at a few years earlier, when Jonah penned the gem “Stay Awhile,” the first song that he wrote away from his instrument. Fleshed out on the record by jazz guitar wiz Bill Frisell’s subtle electric guitar playing and Texas fiddler/singer Carrie Rodriguez’s harmony vocals, the song and the lyrics really come across: “Daylight breaks so easy on your fingertips / and you tease me when you’re looking so coy / the morning sun is pleased to be lingering on your lips / and we can lay here just a little bit more…”
Simple, sweet and soulful, “Stay Awhile” built a bridge to such Rhodes-soaked beauties as “Cast a Long Shadow”—featuring Garth Hudson of The Band on accordion—and “Little Black Angels,” which is arranged perfectly by Smith’s crack band: saxophonist Bob Reynolds, drummer Marko Djordjevic, guitarist David Soler and bassist Ben Rubin.
Having played with Jonah since his move to New York in 2000 and onward through hundreds of performances in the U.S and Europe, they provide the perfect backdrop for these songs. Together they recorded Jonah Smith in the spring of 2005 at The Studio in Woodstock, NY. “The room itself just had this magic to it. The second we started playing, it sounded warm and rich,” Smith says. The ingredients were all there: the right songs, the right producer, the right musicians, and the right studio.
“I’m most comfortable in front of the piano singing,” he adds. “A lot of times, I let the songs articulate for me. I don’t have to always explain myself. I like that—I think that’s probably why I became a songwriter.”
The end result is the type of music, the type of songs that have you feeling like you’re onto something at a very early stage, like you’re hip to something very early on that could blow up. “And that’s kind of my goal,” says Smith. “I’m looking to have an emotional impact on people—I’m trying to get a reaction.”
The Story So Far. . .
read band member bios >> here
Meet the Band...
Ben Rubin :: bass
This is Ben. He's our bass player and resident conversationalist. Don't let that serious expression fool you, Ben can start up a conversation with almost any stranger in 5 minutes or less using his trademark “Don't I know you from somewhere? You went to UVM, didn't you?” line. It's amazing. You have to witness it to believe it. Originally from Winston-Salem, NC, Ben was the first of the guys to meet Jonah while attending the University of Vermont over a decade ago. Jury's still out on how his parents feel about him trading in his degree in small business development for a life of playing in bars. Ben is perpetually convinced that any experience can or could be so much better "If only..." something were different.
David Soler :: guitar, pedal steel guitar
This is David. Again, don't let the photo mislead you, he does actually play guitars in the band, but this is his favorite picture of himself; he says it's him in his "most natural state", so we put it up. David is from Barcelona, Spain, which is what that funny little Naranjito character on his shirt is all about. David joined the group in 2000 when he and Jonah struck up an accidental conversation in a Brooklyn bar—David was drunk and possessed an english vocabulary of about 15 words. Before that, he honed his chops in Spain playing in country/western bands like Country Joe and the Perfect Show. David is in love with American beef jerky.
Marko Djordjevic :: drums
Meet Marko (aka Sgt. Djordjevic). That hulking physique doesn't come from potato chips and sleeping in; no, Marko is slightly obsessive about his workout regimen and brings a 40lb dumbbell on tour with him. He is also fond of inventing new ways to turn a children's playground into a gym, and has a patent pending for an original exercise combining squats with the breast stroke and a steamed-up bathroom. Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, Marko has been a citizen of the US of A for 15+ years and his english vocabulary is deeper than the sum total of the other band members. What else? Oh yes, don't get between Marko and his sunflower seeds. Ever.
Bob Reynolds :: saxophone
Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Bob is both the second oldest band member and the youngest member of the band. (?) Back in Boston, when Jonah and Ben were operating under the moniker Deluxe, Bob was initially called in to sub for a previous sax player who had car trouble en route to a gig (or something like that). What was to be a 3 song guest appearance at Bill's Bar turned into 6 years of playing together. Not unlike Milton in the movie Office Space, Bob never got his pink slip and just kept showing up to gigs—much to the chagrin of Jonah, who was then faced with defending his music as non-jazz, despite the presence of a saxophonist in the group. Bob is deeply sorry for this error, though he holds Human Resources fully responsible. Bob's other talents include driving the band van for long stretches at a time, laundry, and web design (he built this one).
Andy Stack :: guitar
Andy Stack is the latest addition to the band. In addition to playing guitars and singing backgrounds in the group he's also really into wearing super tight clothes and comparing musicians unfavorably to Tom Petty. After hanging out with the band in Texas during SXSW he was dubbed "young and repugnant" by our other guitarist, David Soler and thus found suitable to join the band. Andy is also internationally known as a rockologist. In that capacity, he teaches youngsters the appropriate sneer to distortion ratio and other "killer moves". Marko currently has him on a strict exercise regiment.