Ira Nathaniel “Nate” Smithis an American drummer, keyboardist, composer, songwriter and producer. He was born on December 14, 1974 and is a native of Chesapeake, VA. His musical talent became apparent at the age of 11, after he found his brother’s old drum kit buried in his parent’s garage. He went on to earn a percussion performance scholarship and pursued his musical studies at James Madison University, where he received a B.S. in Media Arts and Design. After college, he was invited to continue his studies at Virginia Commonwealth University as a member of the Carpenter Fellowship Program.
While still in college, Nate was recruited by the great jazz singer Betty Carter to participate in her esteemed Jazz Ahead program, which has produced an impressive list of alumni including Jason Moran, Cyrus Chestnut, Jacky Terrasson, and Sonya Kitchell among many others. In graduate school he met and performed with the legendary jazz bassist and composer Dave Holland. He continued to perform occasionally with Dave over the next few years, finally joining his Grammy-award winning Quintet and Big Band in 2003. Shortly thereafter, Nate joined saxophonistChris Potter’s group, Chris Potter Underground. Since then, Nate has gone on to perform and/or record with Jason Moran, Joshua Redman, Stefon Harris, Emily King, Patricia Barber, Adam Rogers, Craig Taborn, Scott Colley and many others.
Nate is also an accomplished songwriter and producer, having worked with Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley on the song “Heaven Can Wait” on Mr. Jackson’s Invincible album. He recently formed his own production company, Waterbaby Music, Inc., and released his first EP, Workday: Waterbaby Music, Vol. 1.0. For more information about Mr. Smith’s production and songwriting, please visit www.waterbabymusic.com.
Nate Smith currently lives and works in New York City.