Jonah Smith
Encyclopedia
Jonah Smith is an American musician.
He recorded his first indie album, Industry Rule, in 2000 at engineer Matt Stein's studio in New York. The album was completed in under a week and featured Smith's regular lineup of musicians for the next several years: Marko Djordjevic - drums, Bob Reynolds - sax, Ben Rubin - bass and David Soler - guitar, pedal steel guitar, as well as harmony vocals by Maya Azucena
, a frequent guest at his live shows. The sound of the album was a mixture of soul, jazz and country and the material was mostly inspired by Smith's recent move to New York to pursue music. The album was well received by the New York press and soon led to a regular spot at the famed 55 Bar after Jonah was discovered by its owner, Queva Lutz. Coinciding with Smith's gaining stature in New York was the band's popularity in Spain due to the influence of guitarist David Soler. Soon Smith and his band were touring regularly in Spain as well as on the East Coast of the United States.
In 2003 after a fair amount of touring Smith returned to the studio to record his followup, Beneath the Underdog, with coproducer Jason Olaine. This album refined Smith's sound a bit further, weaning out most of the jazz influence in favor of a more rootsy rock sound. The lineup of the band, however, remained intact. The album was again well received by critics but failed to get Smith a wider audience.
In 2004, Smith entered his song "Tell it to the Mountain" from his album Beneath the Underdog into a songwriting contest held by Relix
Magazine. The song won and Smith was invited to play at a showcase in New York where he met the owner of Relix Magazine, Steve Bernstein.
Their relationship continued when Bernstein decided to relaunch Relix Records - a label that had long been dormant. Smith was the first artist signed to the new Relix Records.
In 2006, Relix Records released Jonah Smith, the self-titled “debut”. It was produced by Lee Townsend and featured the same lineup as the other two albums with the addition of guests like Garth Hudson
of The Band
, Carrie Rodriguez
and the Mason Brothers. Starting that year and into 2007, Smith embarked on several cross-country tours in the United States as well as an extended tour in Spain. He landed the opening spot for several well known artists including Madeleine Peyroux
, Little Feat
, Martin Sexton
, Taj Mahal
, the Subdudes, James Hunter and others. The tracks "My Morning Scene" and "When We Say Goodnight" received heavy airplay at many triple A radio stations in the US as well as satellite radio. In early 2007, "My Morning Scene" won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards
for Best Folk/Singer–Songwriter Song. Around this time, guitarist Andy Stack became a regular in his working group. This record, being the first promoted on a national scale, gained Smith a wider audience and landed him a spot at 2007s Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee
and the Langerado
Festival in South Florida in March 2008.
He recorded his first indie album, Industry Rule, in 2000 at engineer Matt Stein's studio in New York. The album was completed in under a week and featured Smith's regular lineup of musicians for the next several years: Marko Djordjevic - drums, Bob Reynolds - sax, Ben Rubin - bass and David Soler - guitar, pedal steel guitar, as well as harmony vocals by Maya Azucena
Maya Azucena
Maya Azucena is an American singer-songwriter and cultural ambassador from Brooklyn, NY. She attended the LaGuardia School of Performing Arts. She independently released her debut CD "Maya Who?!" at shows and from her website.-Solo Work:...
, a frequent guest at his live shows. The sound of the album was a mixture of soul, jazz and country and the material was mostly inspired by Smith's recent move to New York to pursue music. The album was well received by the New York press and soon led to a regular spot at the famed 55 Bar after Jonah was discovered by its owner, Queva Lutz. Coinciding with Smith's gaining stature in New York was the band's popularity in Spain due to the influence of guitarist David Soler. Soon Smith and his band were touring regularly in Spain as well as on the East Coast of the United States.
In 2003 after a fair amount of touring Smith returned to the studio to record his followup, Beneath the Underdog, with coproducer Jason Olaine. This album refined Smith's sound a bit further, weaning out most of the jazz influence in favor of a more rootsy rock sound. The lineup of the band, however, remained intact. The album was again well received by critics but failed to get Smith a wider audience.
In 2004, Smith entered his song "Tell it to the Mountain" from his album Beneath the Underdog into a songwriting contest held by Relix
Relix
Relix magazine was launched in 1974 as newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concerts. It rapidly expanded into a music magazine covering a wide amount of artists...
Magazine. The song won and Smith was invited to play at a showcase in New York where he met the owner of Relix Magazine, Steve Bernstein.
Their relationship continued when Bernstein decided to relaunch Relix Records - a label that had long been dormant. Smith was the first artist signed to the new Relix Records.
In 2006, Relix Records released Jonah Smith, the self-titled “debut”. It was produced by Lee Townsend and featured the same lineup as the other two albums with the addition of guests like Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson
Eric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
of The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Carrie Rodriguez
Carrie Rodriguez
Carrie Luz Rodriguez is a Mexican-American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and well-known Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and plays the fiddle, mandobird and tenor guitar...
and the Mason Brothers. Starting that year and into 2007, Smith embarked on several cross-country tours in the United States as well as an extended tour in Spain. He landed the opening spot for several well known artists including Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....
, Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, Martin Sexton
Martin Sexton
Martin Sexton is an American singer-songwriter and producer originally from Syracuse, New York.- Early life :Sexton grew up the tenth of twelve children in a working class Irish-American family. He acquired his first guitar, a Sears & Roebuck acoustic, at the age of 14 and later played in local...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, the Subdudes, James Hunter and others. The tracks "My Morning Scene" and "When We Say Goodnight" received heavy airplay at many triple A radio stations in the US as well as satellite radio. In early 2007, "My Morning Scene" won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
for Best Folk/Singer–Songwriter Song. Around this time, guitarist Andy Stack became a regular in his working group. This record, being the first promoted on a national scale, gained Smith a wider audience and landed him a spot at 2007s Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,102 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County...
and the Langerado
Langerado
Langerado Music Festival is an annual music festival, taking place in early spring in South Florida, first organized in 2003 by Ethan Schwartz and Mark Brown. In 2008 the festival was held at the Seminole Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades...
Festival in South Florida in March 2008.
