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E. Doctor Smith

E. Doctor Smith, inventor of the Drummstick, began his musical journey as a teenager playing percussion in the District of Columbia Youth Orchestra and in Maryland’s Montgomery County Youth Orchestra. Inspired by the Miles Davis fusion bands of the mid-70s, he continued his studies with Paul Sears, drummer of the Muffins. His first group, Oranus Rey, featured guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist Ed Howard, and saxophonist Tim Chambers. In 1980 Smith moved to New York where he met fellow Music Building tenants Madonna and her co-writer, Stephen Bray. With Bray, Smith performed in the Breakfast Club and The Same. The Same was produced by Brian Eno and featured keyboardist Carter Burwell, guitarist Chip Johannsen, singer Clodagh Simmons, bassist Stanley Adler, and the motto "Semper Mutants." Following Bray and Madonna to Los Angeles, Smith assisted on many of Madonna's biggest albums as well as other of Bray's projects including Nick Kamen, Gladys Knight, The Breakfast Club, Bryan Ferry, and Steel Pulse. In L.A. Doc’s sound engineering skills were honed in sessions working alongside Michael Verdick and Tony Shepperd. Back on the East Coast, Smith performed with the New England groups K2, Flash to Bangtime, and Feat of Clay using a Simmons kit he called the “Beast." Inspired by that of British drummer Bill Bruford, Smith’s 12-piece kit was the first embodiment of his love of digital drums. In 1995, as a member of the trio Between The Lines, and influenced by the work of Roy "Future Man" Wooten, Smith designed and built the Drummstick, a percussion controller consisting rather humbly of a 2x6 piece of wood with 16 finger-pads. Borne of a desire to walk on stage, plug in and play like a guitarist, while accessing his beloved and virtually infinite world of digital sounds, Smith’s Drummstick developed a life of its own. In 2000 Smith debuted his first CD of original music, The Drummstick, with his band of the same name, which featured core members Jack Wright on guitar, Neil Mezebish on horns, and Celia DuBose on bass. That year he also performed using the Drummstick with guitar legends including Bon Lozago of Gong, Tom Principato, Bill Kirchen, Paul Bollenback, as well as bansurist John Wubbenhorst, tabla master Sandip Burman, and the famed Howard Levy. Now living in San Francisco, Smith performed at the Edgetone New Music Summit of 2006 with horn player Eric Dahlman. In March 2007, Smith will release a new Drummstick 2 CD, a long-distance collaboration with the original Drummstick band and other musical friends (and the re-release of his first Drummstick CD) on Edgetone Records. Smith also produced and performed on an Edgetone release entitled Robert Anbian and UFQ: the Unidentified Flying Quartet. This timely and troubling work of jazz and poetry features poet Robert Anbian, saxophonist Charles Unger, keyboardist Sam Peoples, and bassist Mike Shea. Smith has collaborated with 7 string bass virtuoso Edo Castro and Seth Elgart for his upcoming release on Edgetone Records, "K2". His sixth album on the Edgetone Records label 1s entitled "Quantum ", and reunites Smith with his former Drummstick band mate, guitarist Jack Wright (Quantum Kids, Temporal Chaos Project), the Quantum Kids' bassist, Tom Shiben, and Smith's Feat of Clay co-founder, trumpeter Eric Dahlman. Quantum is Smith’s first album using the new Zendrum EXP, MIDI percussion controller, the first commercially sold EXP, designed by David Haney of the Zendrum Corporation. “FutureJazz” (Edgetone EDT4171) is Smith's latest work and his seventh album on the Edgetone Records label. FutureJazz unites Smith with guitarist Peter McKibben (Savant Garde) and features flautist, Laura Austin Wiley (Resonance). Smith continues his unique fusion approach with the Zendrum EXP, combined with McKibben’s inspired guitar looping mastery and Wiley’s thoughtful flute playing to create music swirling between the sublime, the beautiful, the incendiary. Inspired by the music of iconic jazz fusion pioneers like Return to Forever, progressive rock groups like King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Tangerine Dream, and the 1970 classic tome “Future Shock” by author Alvin Toffler, Smith and McKibben’s compositions are borne out of an appreciation for the those musical masters, and the shock that accompanies the reality today’s musicians face in our rapidly changing, ever-evolving, digital age. Smith, McKibben and Wiley have not shied away from it. To the contrary, they have sought to embrace it by using some of the latest musical technology, instruments and signal processing to explore the boundaries of the analog and digital, musical frontiers. Smith currently performs with bansurist John Wubbenhorst's Facing East, and with keyboardist Steve McQuarry's "Echelon" electric quartet, featuring violinist Michele Walther and bassist Ted Burik. Doc's latest projects are with bansurist John Wubbenhorst and his group Facing East; "FutureJazz”, his seventh album on the Edgetone Records label with guitarist Peter McKibben, and flautist Laura Austin Wiley; Steve McQuarry's Electric Quartet featuring bassist Ted Burik and violinist Michele Walther of McQuarry's Resonance Jazz octet. Doc also performs regularly with the Laura Austin Wiley Electric Quintet with keyboardist Jim Lang, guitarist David McFarland and bassist Edo Castro Woodhouse. Doc recently completed a tour and album with bassist Jason Everett’s Deep Energy Orchestra, featuring Trey Gunn of King Crimson on Warr guitar, guitarist Fareed Haque of Billy Cobham’s Crosswinds band, Radhika Iyer on electric violin, Phil Hirschi of the Mahavishnu Orchestra on cello, Chaz Hastings on tabla, Rachel Nesvig on violin and Aleida Gehrels on viola. His newest effort is the Trio Electrique with bassist Edo Castro Woodhouse and violinist Michele Walther. In 2023 he will release his 9th album on the Edgetone Records label, "Ketu" featuring Seth Elgart, Claudia Paige and Peter McKibben, and a duo album with keyboardist Thollem McDonas.

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"Wonderful, inventive and triggers the imagination..." - Billy Cobham

"Caught a great gig by E. Doctor Smith (aka today's birthday boy) at Hotel Utah in SF last night. The master of the Zendrum performed music from his new CD Quantum, along with guitarist Jack Wright and bassist Tom Shiben. Excellent stuff crisscrossing prog, avant, funk and fusion territory. Learn more here: http://edoctorsmith.com/ (and happy birthday dude!)" -Anil Prasad, Innerviews. "From the banjo-meets-Bruford tribal groove of "Futureboy" to the atmospheric sonic landscapes of "Girl of a Thousand Days," E

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

True Fire

Facing East
2020

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Trio Electrique

Edgetone Records
2020

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FutureJazz

Edgetone Records
2016

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Quantum

Edgetone Records
2013

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Live with Edo Castro

Edgetone Records
2009

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E. Doctor Smith and...

Edgetone Records
2008

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