Nate Smith (musician)

This article is about the jazz musician. For the country music singer, see Nate Smith (singer).

Ira Nathaniel Smith (born December 14, 1974), generally referred to as Nate Smith, is an American drummer, songwriter, producer, and three-time Grammy nominee.^[1]

Nate Smith
Smith in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Ira Nathaniel Smith
Born	(1974-12-14) December 14, 1974 (age 50) Chesapeake, Virginia, United States
Instrument	Drums
Website	www.natesmithdrums.com

Life and career

Smith was born in Chesapeake, Virginia, and started playing drums at age 11, initially influenced by rock and funk music. At 16, he developed an interest in jazz after listening to Album of the Year by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Smith studied media art and design at James Madison University.^[2][3] While at James Madison, he performed at the Conference of the International Association for Jazz Education in Atlanta, where he met Betty Carter, who invited him to joint performances at the Blue Note in New York City.^[4] Smith went to graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he met Dave Holland and joined Holland's quintet in 2003.^[2] Smith appears on the albums Critical Mass (2005) and Pathways (2009).^[5] In 2017, he released his first album as leader, Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere on Ropeadope Records.^[2][6] In 2018 Smith cowrote and performed in the self-titled, debut EP release from the Vulfpeck spin-off group The Fearless Flyers, later going on a US tour with the group. The group has released four EPs and two albums.^[7]

Smith has composed soundtracks for broadcast documentaries on Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.^[2][4] He co-wrote and produced the Michael Jackson song "Heaven Can Wait".^[3]

Discography

As leader

• Workday, Waterbaby Music Vol. 1 (Waterbaby Music, 2008)
• Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere (Ropeadope, 2017)
• Pocket Change (Waterbaby Music, 2018)
• Light and Shadow (Waterbaby Music, 2020)
• Kinfolk 2: See the Birds (Edition Records, 2021)
• Pocket Change 2: Mad Currency (Waterbaby Music, 2023)

As sideman

With Robin Eubanks

• Klassik Rock Vol. 1 (ArtistShare, 2014)
• More Than Meets the Ear (ArtistShare, 2015)

With Dave Holland

• Critical Mass (Dare2, 2006)
• Pathways (Dare2, 2010)

With Brittany Howard

• Jaime (ATO Records, 2019)
• What Now (Island Records 2024)

With Jose James

• Love in a Time of Madness (Blue Note, 2017)
• Lean on Me (Blue Note, 2018)

With Chris Potter

• Underground (Sunnyside, 2006)
• Follow the Red Line (Sunnyside, 2007)
• Ultrahang (ArtistShare, 2009)
• Imaginary Cities (ECM, 2015)

With others

• Patricia Barber, The Cole Porter Mix (Blue Note, 2008)
• Randy Brecker, Randy Pop! (Piloo, 2015)
• Scott Colley, Seven (ArtistShare, 2017)
• Nir Felder, Golden Age (Okeh, 2014)
• Takuya Kuroda, Rising Son (Blue Note, 2014)
• Monday Michiru, Don't Disturb This Groove (Grand Gallery, 2011)
• Eric Roberson, Fire (Blue Erro Soul, 2017)
• Adam Rogers, Dice (Adraj, 2017)
• Karel Ruzicka, Grace & Gratitude (Animal Music, 2018)
• Paul Simon, In the Blue Light (Legacy 2018)
• Alex Sipiagin, Live at Smalls (Smalls, 2013)
• Somi, Petite Afrique (Okeh, 2017)
• The Fearless Flyers, The Fearless Flyers (Vulf Records 2018), The Fearless Flyers II (Vulf Records 2019), Tailwinds (Vulf Records, 2020), The Fearless Flyers III (Vulf Records, 2022), The Fearless Flyers IV (Vulf Records, 2024), The Fearless Flyers V (Roundwound Media, 2025)

Equipment

Smith endorses Zildjian cymbals, Ludwig drums, Vic firths sticks/mallets/beaters,^[8] and Evans drumheads.