Breaking News from Steve Smith
Vital Information has recently completed a new CD tentatively titled Vitalization. We have 12 new tunes that are all written by band members, Tom Coster (keyboards), Baron Browne (bass), Vinny Valentino (guitar), and me on drums and konokol (Indian vocal percussion). The music was recorded in Los Angeles, December 5-14.
On three of the tunes, we have the extraordinary London based percussionist Pete Lockett as a special guest. I incorporated Indian rhythms and ideas into some of the tunes and I wanted Pete to come to LA and enhance the music by performing on tabla, kanjira, and konokol.
Pete is a master Indian drummer and we've played a few duo and trio concerts over the years, which gave me the idea to have him sit in with Vital Information. Both medleys at the top of this page have some Indian rhythms from two songs on Vitalization.
One of my favorite sax players, Bill Evans, is also a guest and appears on four tracks. Bill has toured with Vital Information as a special guest in 2003 but he hasn’t been in the studio with us. Bill and I also tour together in both Steps Ahead and Soulbop, so it was natural to have him sit in on the recording. The tune "The Bottom Line" is one of the tunes with Bill joining us.
Enjoy a short preview of these tunes at the top of this page. Vitalization will be released on June 5, 2007. Our new label, Hudson Music, will be distributing the CD through drum shops and music stores, which they feel the best way to reach the core of our fans. You will also be able to purchase the CD on our Web site: www.vitalinformation.comBackground
Steve Smith and Vital Information has become a formidable jazz/fusion juggernaut whose longevity surpasses all of the major fusion groups. The all-star lineup of Tom Coster (keyboards), Baron Browne (bass), Vinny Valentino (guitar) and Steve Smith ( drums ) serve up a veritable banquet of sounds, from slamming funk and syncopated second line grooves to seriously swinging, uptempo B-3 burners, South Indian Carnatic inspired jams and sizzling fuzoid romps.
The group’s founder and drummer, Steve Smith , has a resume that stretches from Ahmad Jamal, Zakir Hussain , The Buddy Rich Big Band and Steps Ahead to Andrea Bocelli and Journey . ( www.myspace.com/stevesmith ) It is no surprise that he won Modern Drummer Magazine's #1 All Around Drummer award five years in a row and was voted one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time. I n 2002 Smith was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.
In the last ten years, Smith has led or co-led fifteen different jazz or jazz/rock projects for the Tone Center label. His educational Hudson Music DVD "Steve Smith - Drumset Technique and History of the U.S. Beat" is a best seller in the music educational market. Steve is also the bandleader of Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy, a straight-ahead jazz group dedicated to playing music honoring the legacy of many of the great jazz drummers ( www.myspace.com/stevesmithjazzlegacy ). Steve Smith is one of the most constantly evolving drummers on the scene today.
Smith is quick to point out that a key to the band’s remarkable versatility is its bassist, Baron Browne . "Baron brought a real serious groove element to the band," says Smith of his rhythm section partner. "He’s my favorite bass player to play with because he can play all the styles and he always makes the music feel so good. Baron plays great swing, great funk and groove, he can read anything, play in any odd time signature plus he can play over changes really well. It’s hard to find bass players who can do all of that." Browne has worked in the past with Gary Burton , Billy Cobham , Jean-Luc Ponty , Steps Ahead and Tom Jones, he is also the bass player in Steve Smith’s straight-ahead jazz group Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy.
Unique multi-keyboardist Tom Coster , whose versatility ranges from Hammond B3 to accordion, was playing with Gabor Szabo and Rahsaan Roland Kirk long before he came to prominence in <b Santana , a stay that lasted nine years. He has recorded many solo albums and has been a member of Vital Information since 1986. Tom also tours with Billy Cobham and Bill Evans .
Vinny Valentino is the newest member of Vital Information. Vinny began touring in a progressive rock band while still in high school. At age 16, influenced by the music of George Benson , Vinny began pursuing jazz as a career. He recalls, "The turning point for me was hearing George Benson in concert; I had never heard anybody play like that. It was an eye-opening experience." Vinny and his mentor George have since developed a close friendship. George Benson refers to Vinny as "a young genius with brilliant tone and fresh ideas."
Vinny earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at Howard University. Vinny has shared the stage or recording studio with such jazz greats as Gary Bartz , Randy Brecker , Bill Evans , John Pattitucci , Richard Bona , Bob Moses , George Benson , Steve Gadd , Dennis Chambers , and Jimmy McGriff .
Vital Information recorded four albums for Columbia records, Vital Information (1983), Orion (1984), Global Beat (1986), Fiafiaga (Celebration) (1988) and two recordings for Blue Note; Vitalive! (1991) and Easier Done Than Said (1992). On Intuition Music, they released Ray Of Hope (1996) followed by the group’s 1998 recording, Where We Come From, which was a new beginning for Vital Information.
The band had decided to reintroduce themselves to their musical roots and the result is a rootsy amalgam which ran the stylistic gamut from James Brown funk to Booker T & The MGs, Memphis soul to searing Tony Williams Lifetime-inspired fusion while making further allusions to jazz icons like Buddy Rich, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery and Ornette Coleman along the way. As a result, Where We Come was voted Best Contemporary Jazz Recording Of 1998 by the Association For Independent Music.
That Americanized formula became more clarified on 2000’s Live Around The World, and their group chemistry solidified on 2001’s Show ‘Em Where You Live, which was released on Tone Center in the USA and Intuition in Europe. On the band’s 11th album, Come On In, Vital Information continues to hone its "U.S. music" direction while staking out some adventurous new territory. The seasoned veterans cover a lot of bases on Come On In and do it all in such convincing fashion. The band has 10 new compositions they have been playing live and are preparing to record their 12 th album in December, 2006.
There isn’t a more flexible and disciplined band of killer players on the jazz scene today than Vital Information.
www.vitalinformation.com