Live from Harlem – JFA Presents: Warren Smith Q-tet

Among the most respected and prolific of instrumentalists, drummer/percussionist Warren Smith has played a significant role in American music. Originally from Chicago, he moved to New York in the late 50s to attain a masters in percussion at Manhattan School of Music, and embarked on a storied career that has included Broadway (West Side Story), education (Third Street Music School Settlement, Adelphi University, SUNY), session work (Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison), creative big bands (Charles Mingus, Gil Evans), and numerous associations with vital jazz artists (Julius Hemphill, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Muhal Richard Abrams, Tony Williams). Beginning in the late 1960s, his own loft space would spur the creation of both his group Composers Workshop Ensemble and Max Roach’s legendary percussion ensemble M’Boom. Now nearing his ninth decade, Smith has remained an energetic presence on stages and recordings

This event will stream on the Jazz Foundation and Jazz Museum Facebook pages and the Museum YouTube Channel.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the Howard Gilman Foundation.