Herbert D. Smith

Living with the double bass and the electric bass over the years has been a challenging and rewarding experience, both personally through the people that I have met and musically through the repetoire of different styles and songs that I have discovered and performed................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ........................Received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Performance on the Double-Bass from UCLA under the direction of L.A. Philharmonic bassist Frederick D. Tinsley in 1983. Attended California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1984 on a Masters Program scholarship to continue studying with Tinsley and perform with the CalArts symphony and chamber orchestras. ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ......................Also studied privately on double bass with Harold Siegel, Steve Rodby, Richard Davis and Laura Snyder. Private study on electric bass and jazz improvisation with noted session bassist, clinician and author Carol Kaye. ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ..................... ..Also, beginning a third straight year, performing World Music as house bassist at the Orange County nightly "hotspot" “ The Caspian “ in Irvine California. Has performed there with international concert and recording artists such as Leila Forouhar, Yagub Zurufchi, Habib, Alina, and Behzad. Opened for vocalist,Sattar and composer legend, Sadegh Nojooki. ............................................................ ............................................................ ........ ... Received an outstanding performance award while a member of the UCLA Jazz EnsembleFounder of the Los Angeles Bass Violin Choir, a group of prominent L.A. area bassists performing special arrangements by Smith and New York bassist Bill Lee. Bill Lee, father of director Spike Lee, and founder of the New York Bass Violin Choir, premiered many unique compositions and arrangements in his son's earlier films. Regular players consisted of Frederick Tinsley, the late Andy Simpkins and George "Red" Callendar, John Heard, Bertram Turetsky, and Herbie Lewis. Additional players to perform with the bass choir were bassists Roberto Miranda, James Leary and Alan Jackson. The late drummers Sherman Ferguson and Bill Douglass, and Pianist Cecil Lytle also performed with the choir ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ................ Invited to be a guest clinician at UC-San Diego Dept of Music to conduct a Master Class with Double Bass students with Professor and bass choir member Bert Turetsky .Has performed with the late jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby, the late tenor saxophonists Eddie Harris, Teddy Edwards, Art Hillery, Ted Jackson, John Wood, Harold Land Jr., Dr. Luther Henderson, Buddy Collette, Jimmie Cheatheam, veteran jazz drummer and clinician Clayton Cameron and other jazz artists in the Los Angeles area. ............................................................ ............................................