Trumpeter and composer David Smith has long been the kind of musician other musicians call first. A true first-call presence on the New York scene, Smith has appeared on more than sixty recordings, leaving his mark across modern big band powerhouses and forward-thinking jazz ensembles alike.
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His credits include Grammy-winning projects such as Bianca Reimagined with the Dan Pugach Big Band (2025) and Four Questions with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (2020), alongside Alan Ferber’s Grammy-nominated March Sublime and a wide range of sessions with artists including Manuel Valera, David Cook, Meg Okura, and Jon Gordon. Onstage, he is equally at home, with frequent live performances alongside Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, the Matt Pavolka Quintet, and many more. After two critically acclaimed albums as a leader on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records—Anticipation and Impetus—Smith now steps forward with his fourth album, Redstone, a release that feels both deeply personal and unmistakably communal.
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Released on April 10, 2026, Redstone features Smith’s quintet: Dan Pratt on tenor saxophone, Nate Radley on guitar, Gary Wang on bass, and Allan Mednard on drums. It’s a lineup built on history, trust, and shared language—musicians who don’t just play the notes, but understand the intent behind them. Smith speaks with clear gratitude about the group assembled for the recording, noting how the relationships behind the music shape what listeners ultimately hear. Nate Radley has appeared on all of Smith’s records, while Gary Wang returns for his third consecutive project with the trumpeter. Dan Pratt, a friend whose connection to Smith stretches back decades, appears on the last two albums—an enduring bond that adds a quiet emotional weight to the sound.
There is also a sense of continuity and loss threaded into the story of Redstone. Smith acknowledges the passing of drummer Anthony Pinciotti, who played on his previous album and died in late 2024. In his place, Allan Mednard brings both fire and sensitivity—an artist Smith describes as one of his favorite drummers to work with in recent years, and a player whose performance on Redstone makes the case for itself.
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The album’s title points back to place, memory, and origin. Smith associates Redstone Lake with his Canadian roots and with the importance of staying connected to family—both the family you’re born into and the extended family you find through music. The title track, “Redstone,” is named for the striking Redstone Lake in central Ontario, photographed by Smith himself for the album cover, making the project feel even more like a document of identity as much as artistry.
Other moments on the record deepen that sense of tribute and lineage. “Blackley” is dedicated to the late drummer Jim Blackley, remembered not only for his musicianship but for the community he built—hosting weekly sessions for musicians at his home in Toronto, creating a space where players could grow, connect, and be heard.
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Sonically, Redstone leans into a recording approach that matches its warmth and intention. The album was recorded live to two-track analog tape using exclusively vacuum tube equipment on April 21, 2025, at the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Produced by David Smith with assistant producer Jerome Sabbagh, and engineered by Pete Rende, the session captures the immediacy of a band playing in the moment—no excess, no gloss, just sound, spirit, and the human pulse behind it.
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With Redstone, David Smith offers more than another entry in an already impressive discography. He offers a place you can hear—a lake, a city, a studio room, a circle of collaborators—and a reminder that the deepest jazz records are often the ones that carry home inside them.
For further information on the artist, please visit the following links:
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Image David Smith in BW by Bryan Murray, provided courtesy of Red Cat Publicity
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