Rusty Smith

Rusty Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Appalachian State University as well as a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. In addition, he spent two years of post graduate studies at Indiana University. Rusty is a former adjunct faculty member of Mars Hill College and also served as the instructor of trumpet at Sevier County High School in Sevierville, TN. His vast playing experience has taken him all over the world with such groups as the Four Tops, the Temptations, the O’Jays, the Spinners, Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, the Spirit of America National Honor Band, and the premier US tour of the show “Ziegfeld: A Night At The Follies”. Rusty was the trumpet player for the Louise Mandrell Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN for the entire duration of her stay there. In addition he has performed for such headline acts as Ray Charles, Steve Allen, Olivia Newton-John, Barbara Mandrel, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Rosemary Clooney, Billy Ray Cyrus, Davy Jones, Michael Feinstein, The Tommy Dorsey Band, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The North Carolina Symphony, The Charlotte Symphony, Linda Eder, The North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, Gerald Levert, Crystal Gayle, Alisha Elliot, and Rebecca Lynn Howard. He has also performed for Princess Cruise Lines, Opryland USA, and Busch Gardens: The Old Country. Rusty is also a regular in the recording studio both as a player and an arranger. In addition, his solo CD “Oceanfront” is available online at www.cdbaby.com/rustysmith. It's a fresh, new mix of Smooth Jazz, R&B, Soul, and Carolina Beach music with a few surprises. With special guests Roy Roberts (Living Blues Critics Award winner for Producer of the Year and Artist Most Deserving of Wider Recognition) and the legendary beach band The Embers. Co-produced by Smith and R. Mark Black (Mark My Words).