Steve Smith
Latest News
Recent and Older News in the Career of Steve Smith
October 20, 2026: Birdland NYC Wrapup
Steve spent more than a month at Birdland Jazz Club NYC five different projects!
The run started with Steve Smith & Vital Information September 4-6. The band featured Steve, pianist/keyboardist Manuel Valera, and bassist Janek Gwizdala. Next up was “Way Out West,” September 11-13. This was a tribute to Sonny Rollins featuring Steve, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and bassist Ben Allison.
Coltrane Revisited returned to Birdland from September 22-26 and featured Steve, Lonnie Plaxico (bass), Helen Sung (piano), Troy Roberts (tenor saxophone) and Jimmy Greene (tenor and soprano saxophones). Then, Steve jumped in on the Bouncin’ With Bud tribute to Bud Powell from October 2-4, featuring Lonnie Plaxico (bass), Pasquale Grasso (guitar), and Tardo Hammer (piano).
Finally, Steve wrapped it all up with the Thelonious Monk Birthday Celebration from October 9-11. The band featured Steve, Ben Allison (bass) and Uri Caine (piano).
September 3, 2026: Rock Pages Interview
Here's a great interview with Steve, covering a bunch of topics including his relationship with Steve Perry and the significance of Journey's "Trial By Fire" album!
Click here to read it!
Steve Smith: A Life in Rhythm, Motion & Independence
Steve joins Open Minded Drumming for a special “DrumTalk” hosted by Claudio Spieler as part of Jim Chapin Independence Week 2026.
In this conversation, Steve talks about his musical journey, early teachers, jazz and swing foundations, his years with Journey, Jim Chapin’s influence, Freddie Gruber, Moeller-related technique, Konnakol, practice, preparation, time, grip, click tracks, and more.
August 5, 2026: Drum Fantasy Camp Wrapup
Steve had a great time teaching and performing at the 2026 Drum Fantasy Camp. This was his 11th appearance at the event, which took place August 1-5 at the Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena, CA.
Steve was joined by instructor/performers Gary Novak, Kaz Rodriguez and Dave Weckl. The camp also featured its signature band: Jimmy Haslip (bass), Stu Mindeman (keys), Chrissi Poland (vocals) and Vinny Valentino (guitar).
Attendees came from 10 countries and all over the U.S. for small classes, nightly jams, and a concert featuring all the drummers!
Click here for photos, video, and more information about the camp.
May 25, 2026: Steve Smith & Vital Information Reimagine Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”
In May, 2025, Steve Smith & Vital Information was featured on Musora’s “Covers on the Spot” series. They took on the challenge of reimagining “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden.
With Steve Smith on drums, Manuel Valera on keys, and Janek Gwizdala on bass, the trio brought their deep musical chemistry and high-level jazz fusion chops to the table and tackled the song with no prep time. With the clock ticking, they were forced to rethink everything from form and feel to harmony and solos. They turned the iconic grunge track into something unexpected, moody, intricate, and entirely their own.
Making of the Song
Song Only Video
March 31, 2026: Remembering Tony Williams
Steve wrote an article on drumming great Tony Williams for Not So Modern Drummer. Steve describes Tony's influence on his playing, highlights of seeing Tony play live and some of their personal interactions. A heartfelt tribute to a profound influence on Steve's drumming.
Click here to read the article!
February 7, 2025: New Perspective Album Release
This 2025 release of New Perspective by Steve Smith & Vital Information was released on CD, Vinyl, streaming services and ATMOS Immersive Audio. The album featured music that Steve Smith previously recorded, but with new arrangements that are vastly different from the original recordings. Included are three songs by Journey ("Open Arms," "Who’s Crying Now," "Don’t Stop Believin’"), Steps Ahead ("Sumo" by Michael Brecker), three from Vital Info ("The Perfect Date," "Charukeshi Express," "Eight + Five") plus two new compositions ("Three Of A Kind," "Josef The Alchemist").
Vital Information features Steve Smith on drums & konnakol, Manuel Valera on keyboards and Janek Gwizdala on electric bass. New Perspective was mixed in Dolby Atmos by Kostadin Kamcev at Mozart Studios. This hi-res digital package also includes music videos for "Don’t Stop Believin’," "The Perfect Date," and "Charukeshi Express."
KIOS.org included the album, from Steve Smith & Vital Information, to a list that includes some fantastic artists, including: Terri Lyne Carrington, Hiromi, and many other great artists. Click here to see their list.
Click here to read a review from Paris Move.
Click here to read the five-star review and Steve Smith retrospective
Stream Links: Click here for links to the album on all major streaming platforms!
Signed CDs: Click here to purchase CDs signed by Steve!
Vinyl LP: Click here to purchase it from Amazon!
Dolby ATMOS: Click here to purchase Dolby ATMOS mixes!
May 5, 2023: DOLBY ATMOS Mixes for "Time Flies" + Companion CD "A Prayer for the Generations!" Also: CDs Signed by Steve Smith (and regular streaming links)!
Vital Information is back! Celebrationg the band's 40th Anniversary, the band has released it's new CD "Time Flies" with a companion album "A Prayer for the Generations."
Get The Music!
"Time Flies" and "A Prayer For The Generations" are available together as a two CD set signed by Steve Smith. You can order here!
Streaming links for both albums:
Click here for Time Flies!
Click here for A Prayer for the Generations!
DOLBY ATMOS versions: click here!
“Emergence” kicks off TIME FLIES with a powerful and intricate composition by keyboard player Manuel Valera, a Grammy nominated artist and Guggenheim Fellow. Steve Smith’s drum performance invokes the spirit of Tony Williams during his “Believe It” period. Bud Powell’s “Tempus Fugue-It” requires a high degree of technical facility to play the up-tempo piece in a relaxed, swinging way and the new incarnation of Vital Information has the chops to play this classic with ease. “Time Flies” is an improvised groove piece featuring saxophone guru George Garzone. Manuel Valera’s sophisticated reworking of “Darn That Dream” is a showcase for the brush mastery of the Vital Information bandleader. Another inventive arrangement by Valera, “Un Poco Loco,” uses the rhythm of the cowbell beat Max Roach played on the original recording, applied to the melody, to breathe new life into this Bud Powell masterpiece. Steve Smith performed Mike Mainieri’s “Self Portrait” many times as a member of Steps Ahead; after a breathtakingly beautiful piano intro by Valera, the group has their own interpretation of this “stadium size” jazz/rock ballad.
George Garzone sits in on tenor sax for McCoy Tyner’s “Inception” and inspires the group to dizzying heights. “Choreography in Six,” a new jazz/rock anthem co-written by Valera and Smith explores rhythmic, harmonic and melodic variations in 6/4. “No Qualm,” a Valera original, is the perfect setting to feature Steps Ahead bandleader Mike Mainieri sitting in on vibraphone. On Monk’s “Ugly Beauty,” the trio takes an odd-time (5/4) and electric approach with Valera featured on Fender Rhodes. Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?” starts with a sax & drum duet and morphs into a 7/4 vamp, setting up a highly original take on the melody. The song ends in classic Vital Information style with a tour de force drum solo from Smith. The album concludes with a mysterious and moody composition by bassist Janek Gwizdala, with Smith using his 34" Zildjian gong as a ride cymbal and probing solos by all three band members.
Companion Bonus CD “A PRAYER FOR THE GENERATIONS”
During Steve Smith’s formative years at the Berklee College of Music in the early 70s, he often played with saxophonist George Garzone’s group The Fringe. Steve reached out to George and invited him to play a few tunes on the TIME FLIES recording. When that session was finished the group decided to continue recording together and explore stellar regions. George called Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up.” They played one high-energy take and decided to enter a space of “collective group composition.” George suggested: “Let’s play as if we are offering a prayer.” The result is A PRAYER FOR THE GENERATIONS Parts 1–8. Each piece was improvised and performed one time in the order presented on Disc 2. The players connected in a telepathic zone creating an acoustic/electric sonic landscape infused with question/answer, discovery and surprise, with pieces ranging from mid-tempo groovers, rubato ballads, 3/4 blues to up-tempo burners; A truly innovative chapter in the ever-evolving musical output of Steve Smith and Vital Information.
Get The Music!
"Time Flies" and "A Prayer For The Generations" are available together as a two CD set signed by Steve Smith. You can order here!
Streaming links for both albums:
Click here for Time Flies!
Click here for A Prayer for the Generations!
DOLBY ATMOS versions: click here!
August 26, 2022: Steve’s “A Journey Into Jazz and Rock Drumming” On Drumeo
Steve teaches a 54 minute lesson, breaking down several of his biggest tunes with Journey plus various tunes from Vital Information over the years!
August 6, 2022: Steve Smith Modern Drummer Legends Book!
In the new STEVE SMITH LEGENDS, you get a brand new 40-page interview which covers Steve’s entire career and virtually every band and recording in which he’s played as a sideman or a leader including: Jean-Luc Ponty, Ronnie Montrose, Steps Ahead, Vital Information, Mike Stern, Hiromi, the many editions of the band Electric Miles, the tribute gigs playing The Music of Coltrane and The Music of Ornette Coleman.
We discuss what it means to be a professional drummer and musician, the history of jazz and fusion drumming, the music business, and being an eternal student of the drums and music. To help you study how Steve interprets music and creates drum parts, he gave us eight of his own handwritten drum charts from the Journey and Mike Stern gigs.
The reader also gets an in-depth step-by-step lesson on Indian rhythms and drumming; A free download component of Steve’s drum solo recording The Fabric of Rhythm (a $200 value) with exclusive in-depth explanations of each solo; A complete rundown of every drum set that he has owned, recorded, and toured with; Hundreds of never-before-seen pictures from his own archive.
You will also get over 50 brand new transcriptions. However, LEGENDS transcriptions are not just the notes and rests. LEGENDS also includes Steve’s thoughts on what makes the transcribed parts and recordings special and unique. Along with the detailed transcriptions, we discuss WHAT and WHY he played what he did. Plus, you get all six of Steve’s past Modern Drummer cover feature interviews.
There are a lot of surprises in every LEGENDS book, and there is a mountain of useful information inside the over 248 pages! This is not just another drum book or magazine, it’s Modern Drummer LEGENDS.
July 1, 2022: Steve Smith & Vital Information Four CD Set!
Wounded Bird Records has released the first four Vital Information albums in a four CD set. The music was originally recorded for Columbia Records from 1983-1988. The albums have been newly mastered from original ¼” masters.
Steve Smith explains, “I searched my storage unit and found unmastered, ¼” safety copies of all four albums. My mastering engineer, Jim Brick of Absolute Audio, had the tapes baked and transferred onto digital. Jim did such an amazing job with the new mastering of the albums that they sound far better than the original releases.”
Go here to learn more and order your signed/personalized copy!
September 2, 2021: The Passing of Baron Browne
Baron Browne, my beloved rhythm section partner, passed away early in the morning of September 2, 2021. Baron and I have played together since 1998, when he joined my band Vital Information. From the day I first played with him until now, he was my first-call bass player. We toured and recorded with Buddy’s Buddies, Jazz Legacy, and pianist Aydin Esen. We toured Europe with saxophonist Bill Evans, recorded for Andrea Bocelli; our final gig together was with Steps Ahead on November 15, 2019. Baron played on a total of twelve of my albums, my Hudson Music educational videos and myriad gigs including the Drum Fantasy Camp rhythm section and The Buddy Rich Big Band. You could say he was the bass player of my lifetime.
Baron’s creativity found an outlet on the Vital Information albums as I gave him free rein for his exceptional production and compositional ideas, which were influential to the overall sound of the group. As an improviser, he was of the highest level, and not just as a soloist. As a bass player he would develop new and compositionally amazing bass lines night after night and inspire the entire group with his deep groove and creativity.
Baron and I were close friends and enjoyed our time together on the road, both offstage and onstage. As a legacy, he now has instilled in me the awareness to cherish, in the moment, every band member and experience I have from this day forward. I certainly cherish him and will remember his face, his joy and bass lines on every gig I play as I go on without his physical presence.
June 20, 2020: Steve Smith & Tony Monaco “Oleo”
Drummer Steve Smith and Hammond B3 master Tony Monaco are swinging hard on Sonny Rollins' "Oleo." The tune was recorded in their respective homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about Tony here!
September 6, 2019: Steve Featured on VF Jams!
Steve was featured in an edition of VF Jams back in 2019 - music videos produced by Vic Firth that feature top drummers jamming with an incredible band!
In this edition, Steve performed the Vital Information tune "8 + 5," which was written by Steve, Baron Browne and Vinny Valentino. This version was arranged by the great Robert "Sput" Searight. Check it out below!
October 26, 2019: Journey 2019 Tour Wrapup
Steve and Journey played more than 60 shows all over the United States this summer! The band split most of its shows with Def Leppard, who put on an amazing show. Steve enjoyed seeing fans and also some old friends along the way!
August 13, 2019: 2019 Drum Fantasy Camp
Steve joined Dennis Chambers, Chad Wackerman, and Gergo Borlai at the 13th annual Drum Fantasy Camp at Vic's Drum Shop (Chicago)!
The camp included four days of all-day classes with each instructor, plus nightly jams and two concerts! The jams and concerts featured Vinny Valentino (guitar), Chrissi Poland (vocals), Janek Gwizdala (bass) and Stu Mindeman (keys).
You can learn more about Drum Fantasy Camp here.
September 16, 2016: Steppin’ Out Release from Steps Ahead
Steve has long been a contributor to the iconic jazz group Steps Ahead. The band has a new CD / 2 LP on Jazzline!
The band features Mike Mainieri (vibraphone), Bill Evans (saxophones), Chuck Loeb (guitar), Tom Kennedy (bass) and Steve Smith (drums). Joining the group on this album is the renowned WDR Big Band Cologne led by arranger and conductor Michael Abene.
Check out this promo video from the tracking sessions! You can get it here!
September 15, 2017: Heart of the City from Vital Information NYC Edition
Steve Smith's band, whose lineage goes back more than 30 years, has released it's burning new album, "Heart of the City." It features 12 tunes performed by six amazing musicians: Baron Browne (bass and vocals), Mark Soskin (piano and Rhodes), Vinny Valentino (guitar), Andy Fusco (alto sax), and George Brooks (tenor and alto saxes).
Click here to order the CD directly from Steve! All copies are signed and will be shipped immediately!
Also available in the iTunes store!
August 9, 2017: 2017 Drum Fantasy Camp
For the 8th year (nine total camps), Steve taught and performed at the annual Drum Fantasy Camp! Steve was joined by instructors Will Calhoun, Todd Sucherman, and Simon Phillips!
Steve did a split show with Todd Sucherman on the first night of the camp. The band included Jimmy Haslip (bass), Stu Mindeman (keys), Chrissi Poland (vocals), and Vinny Valentino (guitar/vocals). He then taught a master class the next four days while also joining in on fun jams in the evening!
April 7, 2017: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Steve enjoyed an incredible night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions on April 7, 2017! The ceremony honored Journey, ELO, Yes, Joan Baez, Pearl Jam, and Tupac Shakur. Pat Monahan inducted former Journey members Steve Perry, Gregg Rolie, and Aynsley Dunbar along with current members Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, and Ross Valory. The band performed with lead singer Arnel Pineda with Rolie and Dunbar joining in!
Steve gave a great speech that referenced his wide-ranging influences as a young musician. It's a great read. Check it out by clicking the PDF icon, below!
Steve’s Speech
August 11, 2015: Drum Fantasy Camp 2015
Steve joined Benny Greb, Mike Mangini, Jojo Mayer, and Dave Weckl at the 2015 Drum Fantasy Camp!
The camp ran from August 7-11 at Vic's Drum Shop in Chicago. Steve performed at the opening concert and then taught master classes for four days. The concert featured Steve, Mike, and Benny sitting in with James Genus (bass), Stu Mindeman (keys), Chrissi Poland (vocals), and Vinny Valentino (guitar). At the end of the show, Steve, Mike and Benny jammed together - and were then joined by Dave Weckl and Jojo Mayer for a snare drum performance of "When The Saints Go Marching In."
You can learn more about the camp at www.drumfantasycamp.com
June 21, 2015: Buddy Rich Alumni Big Band
On June 21, 2015, Steve played drums for the Buddy Rich Alumni Big Band. The band was led by trumpet master Bobby Shew, who played on the recording of Buddy's "new" big band in 1966/1967 that included his original version of West Side Story.
Other alumni who played at the concert was tenor saxophonist Pat LaBarbara, alto saxophonist Andy Fusco, tenor saxophonist Charles Owen and trumpeter Chuck Findley.
The band rehearsed for two days in Prague, Czech Republic and the performance was at the beautiful Smetana Concert Hall in central Prague. The show was sold out with more than 1,800 in attendance.
February 10, 2013: Drum Fantasy Camp Turkey
Steve Smith just wrapped up his seventh appearance at Drum Fantasy Camp! This time, the camp was in Ankara, Turkey, and Vital Information came along for the ride!
Steve joined Thomas Lang, Jojo Mayer, and Teymuralp Merter Fosforoglu as an instructor at the camp. Baron Browne, Chrissi Poland, and Vinny Valentino ran the opening concert and nightly jams. And...Tom Coster joined to complete Vital Information for the closing concert! Tom also joined the nightly jams.
You can learn more at www.drumfantasycamp.com
