Damon Smith

Damon Smith (born October 17, 1972[1]) is an American free-jazz bassist.[2] He has worked with Cecil Taylor,[2] Peter Brötzmann,[2] Marshall Allen,[2] John Tchicai,[3] Elliott Sharp,[3] Fred Frith[2] and Jim O'Rourke.[3] Since 2016, Smith has lived in Boston.[4]

Damon Smith
Birth nameDamon Jesse Smith[1]
GenresJazz, free music, experimental rock
InstrumentsDouble bass

Biography

Smith spent his childhood in eastern Washington but moved to Oakland in the mid-1980s.[2] He took up bass in his late teens, inspired by the Minutemen's Mike Watt.[2] [5][3] His love of Minutemen got him to explore other bands on the SST Records label which led to his discovery of Henry Kaiser, Elliott Sharp and Saccharine Trust.[5] Smith credited Saccharine Trust's improvised live album Worldbroken with altering his views on punk rock, jazz, and free-form jamming.[6] Eventually Damon was fortunate enough to meet Kaiser and the two have collaborated for over twenty years including more than ten recordings together.[3]

Initially an electric bass player due to his love of Minutemen and Watt's followup band fIREHOSE,[3] Smith switched to double bass and began focusing on improvisation[3] inspired by Peter Kowald[2] and his album Duos:Europa[1]

Smith studied with Bill Douglas,[1] Lisle Ellis,[5][1] Kristin Zerneg,[1] and Bertram Turetsky.[1]

In 2001, Smith launched his own record label called Balance Point Acoustics.[1]

More recently, Smith has played with Weasel Walter in his Weasel Walter Quartet[6] and in Plane Crash which also includes Henry Kaiser.[7] The latter expanded to become Astral Plane Crash with the inclusion of Vinny Golia and Bob Moses.[7]

Smith has also collaborated with Werner Herzog on soundtracks to his documentary films Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World.[8]

Partial discography

References
  1. Couture, François. "Damon Smith Biography by François Couture". AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  2. Gilbert, Andrew (April 8, 2014). "Free-Range Bassist". East Bay Express. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  3. Dansby, Andrew (November 13, 2013). "Bassist Damon Smith's joint efforts produce performance gems". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  4. "Damon Smith » Damon Smith". balancepointacoustics.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. Cohan, Brad (August 22, 2017). "Double Bassist Damon Smith is a Driving Force in Out-Jazz". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  6. Farrar, Justin (April 26, 2006). "Pagan Icons' Second Round". East Bay Express. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  7. Longley, Martin (September 7, 2018). "Bassist Damon Smith Helps Steer Astral Plane Crash's Improv". DownBeat. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  8. "Damon Smith ( US )". No Idea Festival. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  9. "Nearly Extinct bpaltd707, by Henry Kaiser / Steve Parker / Damon Smith / Chris Cogburn". Balance Point Acoustics. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  10. Hareuveni, Eyal (January 13, 2014). "Alvin Fielder / David Dove / Jason Jackson / Damon Smith: From-To-From". All About Jazz. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  11. "Damon Smith: Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  12. Taylor, Derek (October 31, 2016). "Alvin Fielder & Damon Smith – Song for Chico (Balance Point Acoustics)". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  13. Taylor, Derek (March 14, 2017). "Alvin Fielder/Frode Gjerstad/Damon Smith – The Shape Finds Its Own Space (FMR)". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  14. Acquaro, Paul (September 22, 2017). "The Continuing Adventures of Damon Smith". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
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