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Adam Smale

“Standing strong in the field of “Jazz”… Adam Smale is one of the serious devotees… an exciting new voice on the scene …take notice!” – Pat Martino

For guitarist/composer Adam Smale, the pursuit of musical expression began at the tender age of seven years old. Today, four decades later, that journey has reached a new peak with the release of his new quartet CD, Out of the Blue, which clearly demonstrates the extraordinary results spawned from the various twists and turns of all of those years of development.

Born in 1967 in a small working class community in Northern Ontario, Adam’s musical roots were first set in Country and Bluegrass. Too small at seven to handle the 5-string banjo that was his desire, he took up the guitar, immediately forming a lifelong bond and personal commitment to the instrument. By the time he was 12, he was performing professionally with local groups and by the time he was 14, he was an experienced professional, performing in clubs, bars, community events, weddings and private parties.

During these formative years, the young guitarist immersed himself in a wide variety of musical influences. But it wasn’t until his years at Humber College that he discovered jazz, and his path took a profound turn. “Jazz felt completely natural. I was always improvising, even when I was very young. Being somewhat naive, I thought everyone improvised all the time. Jazz was the perfect vehicle to express this natural propensity that I seemed to have.” Rather than abandoning his roots – or his earlier influences like Chet Atkins, Albert Lee, Eddie Van Halen, Flatt & Scruggs – Adam began to forge a new direction for himself in the classic tradition of true jazz expression. Discovering a goldmine of jazz guitar masters, including Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Tal Farlow, Jim Hall, and John Scofield, along with Charlie Parker and Bill Evans, a new world of possibilities opened up for him.

But it was the music of the legendary Lenny Beau that had the greatest impact, not only in the direction of his music, but in the physical means by which he would choose to express it. Returning to the thumb-pick of his early years to employ a fingerstyle technique, Adam found his sound. “It was stepping back and moving forward at the same time. I can coax more nuances from the guitar with a fingerstyle technique. It’s a softer approach at times but it’s more sexy.” To complete the process, Adam designed his own 7-string guitars and now primarily uses his specially-built electric and classical guitar as his two instruments of choice.

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Album Review

Adam Smale: Out of the Blue

Read "Out of the Blue" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard


Out of the Blue is the U.S. debut album by Canadian-born guitarist Adam Smale, but Smale hasn't come out of nowhere. In 2000, he released the album Fun City in his home country and received plenty of airplay and critical acclaim and in 2009 he moved to New York and since then he has become a vital addition to the jazz scene in the city. New York is celebrated on “NYC Love Affair," a cool, swinging tune ...

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"Your album is excellent; your playing style on your guitars is unique. I will be playing it more and other jazz DJs will play it for sure." Jerry Bloom WFCF 88.5 FM

"Adam Smale is a consummate guitar stylist that is bridging the gap between respecting the past and observing jazz and improvisational music’s present and future." Eric Harabadian

"Out of the Blue is an album with a kick." Jack Goodstein

"Each composition and delivery on this CD offers something not only entertaining, interesting and musically creative, but also art inspired." Dee Dee McNeil

"A solid guitar date sure to have sitting down jazz fans bouncing in their seats. Hot." CHRIS SPECTOR

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