greg smith

Unlike music bound by traditional parameters, Greg's guitar playing is as boundless as his limits of personal interpretation.
His music enveloped us in a positive sound that is as gentle as a cool summer breeze. We like where he is coming from,
and more importantly where he takes us.
Dave King, Cross Harp Chronicles
- David King/Cross Harp Chronicals web radio

Review of Valgar by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 4.4


smooth groove
smooth, latin jazz feel in the intro. nice, relaxed guitar melody, well played. nice bass lines and mellow percussion.



Review of Valgar by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 4.4


nice
nice guitar solöo i like your song it grooves and has a nice mood to it. very nice i like it and it really sounds groovy.

Extra Credit: Guitars, Melody, Beat, Mood, Grooviest Rhythm.



Review of Valgar by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 4.4


Guitar
Very talented guitarist here.
Just dripping with a steamy sensuality that is very engaging, but played with a tempered hand that speaks of many years experience.

Some very impressive licks bursting through on this track.

The progression takes a nice turn toward resolution around 4:14

Very well done.

Extra Credit: Guitars.



Review of Valgar by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 4.4

WOW!
NICE SAMBA STYLE, AND A GUITARIST DELIGHT OF A SONG! YOU'VE JUST CURED MY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE FELLAS! LOL! SMOOTHE, INVITING, AND SIMPLY AN UNCOMPLICATED SONG! YOUR SONG'S CHORD STRUCTURES ARE NEVER PREDICTABLE OR BORING. VERY NICE CHILL MUSIC FOR A RESTAURANT OR BY MY FIREPLACE WITH MY HONEY! (smilin)

Extra Credit: Guitars, Drums, Bass, Production, Melody, Beat, Mood, Originality, Coolest Chill-Out Track.




Review of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4


nice job
very nice melody, the lead guitar is awesome and mood is about the relax the whole neighbourhood.
cool i like it.


Review of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4


good
i like how the guitar starts off the music and is the lead instrument. it sounds like a new style of jazz to me. lead guitar is awesome it completes the song. mood is awesome that this song puts off good job on that. this is a good song keep it up.


eview of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4


RYDERS ON THE STORM?
THAT'S THE FEEL I IMMEDIATELY GOT FROM THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR ENTRANCE. PLAYED VERY NICELY TOO, IN FACT! OK, NOW YOU'RE REMINDING ME OF S. AFRICA'S JONATHAN BUTLER! OK, I CAN SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING! YOU OBVIOUSLY "SLEEP, EAT, DRINK AND READ" ACOUSTIC GUITAR 24/7/365 RIGHT? HOW IS IT THAT YOU CAN DO... WITH ONE DAMN INSTRUMENT (Theoretically), WHAT OTHERS CAN'T SEEM TO DO WITH, "LEAD & BACKGROUND VOCALS, OTHER ACCOMPANYING INSTRUMENTS AND SYNTHESIZERS AND OTHER FANCY PROGRAMS?" WELL, I GET IT! BUT I WONDER IF THEY'LL EVER BE READY FOR YOU! YOU'RE VERY ENTERTAINING AND ABSOLUTELY AWE INSPIRING! BY THE WAY, CAN YOU GIVE A BROTHA SOME BEGINNER GUITAR LESSONS? LOL!

Extra Credit: Guitars, Production, Melody, Mood, Originality, Most Rocking Track.

Review of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4

Right From the Start
I am carried away by this song as if on a horse riding the clouds, very upbeat, yet calming and cooling, the mood is both uplifting and a tiny bit melancholy.

The melody is memorable, which makes this song great as a movie theme, but I wish for vocals to carry the vision further.


Extra Credit: Guitars, Melody, Mood, Best Potential Movie Soundtrack.


Review of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4

hmm
surprisingly good. not a listener of jazz, but this is really good, nice and instrumental. i like it.

Review of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4

NIce guitar work from the top
Real cool choice of notes, good melody I could see this getting radio airplay easily, good work. Of course I would love to hear some hand percussion work in there, at least a shaker. NIce work. Oh and the mood is nice

Extra Credit: Guitars, Production, Mood.


view of Mountain Hike by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz 3.4

Amazing!!!!
This song is breathtaking. It sounds somewhat farmiliar, but original at the some time. I loved the guitar intro and melody. It sounds melacholy and so emotional. I was crying by the end. The playing is excellent, as is the beat. The upbeat rhythm and sad feel make me give it a 5. Bravo!


Extra Credit: Guitars, Melody, Originality, Grooviest Rhythm.




Review of Orchestral Fantasia.. by Greg Smith
Genre: Classical


disturbing
Great sound track, good quality product values, engaging type of sound. Well played and put together.

Review of Orchestral Fantasia.. by Greg Smith
Genre: Classical

Contemporary
This song definitely breaks the mold--does many things that I guarantee go outside of my own comfort zone as a composer. While not entirely leaving the tonal world, this piece goes into foreign modes, scales, and ideas that are much more complex that most that are being used nowadays.
But still, 8:14 of obviously electronic instruments gets just a bit grating. This excellent work of art COMPLETELY deserves some real instruments! Definitely not your in-the-box thinker, with some of these melodies and chord progressions. Keeps creating incredible new ideas, stuff that I've never heard before.
Only criticisms--overt use of the solo strings instrument eventually gets just a little bit tiring. It's nice to hear it stating the melody before hand, but instead of using precious time on the solo instrument, build up to more climaxes!
Then at 6:16, it seems to lose its daring, exploring feel and goes into all-too-familiar keys, using the simple timpani and flute and strings ideas a few times to end what was otherwise an incredibly original and impressive points. NOT going to lose you any points for originality or melody! Excellent job overall, I'd love to see who composed this masterpiece!

Extra Credit: Programming, Melody, Originality.

eview of Figaro Tree by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz

It's a trip!
Wow! Pretty origional, I can't think of anything that sounds quit like it. Well written/recorded, would love to hear it live in a coffey shop or lounge. Guitar is complex and tight for the most part. I really like the little break down twards the end. I'd like to hear some more of their stuff.
Great Tune!

Peace


Extra Credit: Guitars, Keyboards, Production, Originality, Coolest Chill-Out Track.


eview of Figaro Tree by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz

country jazz
fine rhtm guit to wait the solo one - acoustic guitars - they play as good as they can - and they are nice - mood similar to Genesis sometimes, to Metheny sometimes - I like the solo when it's going to bass register - a little less technique and a little too heart will let this a hit.

then here cames the fiddles - alive, I think - [GOOD GOOD] then the duo rhtm+solo guits came back to end the tale.


Extra Credit: Guitars, Originality, Coolest Chill-Out Track.



- vinsilmcjagger
Review of Forties by Greg Smith
Genre: Jazz

Slick groove
Nice slick little tune. Would fit in a tv show. I mean that in a good way!
Sounds like an experiment.



- breckerbrothers

- various reviewers

"Greg is a great guitar player; he's got great technique, fabulous ideas, and his sense of timing is right on the mark. He's a true spiritual being with an unsurpassed seeking mind and will continue to fold the benefits of his humanistic quest into his ever-evolving musical expression." - Larry Coryell

Review in 20st century Guitar Magazine- August issue by Robert Silverstein

Mixing straight ahead and smooth jazz, Brazilian and a touch of new age,guitarist Greg Smith strives towards gaining his own voice in the guitar world and finds it with his 2006 CD Above the Clouds. In the spirit of some of Pat Metheny’s jazzier ,less ethereal acoustic moments, Smith’s instrumental guitar sounds often defies easy category but either way he grooves the spirit is quite strong on Above the Clouds. Having studied in the early ‘70s at Berklee with Metheny, Larry Coryell and Jeff Berlin, the Florida based Smith is hardly a novice and throughout the CD he demonstrates a masterful touch on his PRS, Taylor, Gitane and Yamaha guitars, Above the Clouds is a well-recorded Cd filled with memorable guitar sounds. - Robert Silverstein

Guitarist/composer/educator Greg Smith attempts an ambitious synthesis within adult contemporary jazz intended to jettison his jazz vision from the maudlin confines of what passes for “smooth” jazz today. Smith is not satisfied with the cliché throbbing synthesizers and intellectually deprived virtuosity plaguing the majority of jazz ostensibly intended for greater crossover appeal. Smith’s approach is successful in its intentions on Above The Clouds.

This recording is a collection of original compositions that function as an integrated suite or “tone poem” of music that touches the corner of multiple genres in an effort to assimilate these differing styles into a cohesive uber-performance. Smith has a unique ability to compose hook-filled pieces that you may well be humming later in the day after one spin of the disc. Infectious pretty well describes the entire phenomenon. Add to this the technical aspects of reveberation with a slight delay, and the resulting sound is very much Smith's own.

The title track offers a lilting example of guitar made ethereal. Smith achieves a sitar-like tone that gives the song, constructed over Western harmonies, a decidedly Eastern flavor, like a hint of curry in one’s pasta. The solution of styles is provocative. Another example, “Mountain Hike,” immediately takes on a Monterey-to-San Francisco feel in Smith’s rhythum accompaniment to this solidly melodic song. Smith’s obbligato and improvised solos are thoughtful and cleverly constructed not to waste notes—likewise, the entire recording. Above The Clouds is Greg Smith’s shot across the bow of boring “smooth” jazz, showing that the genre can be much, much more. - By C. Michael Bailey

WHITESTER RADIO-SMOOTH JAZZ
Honorable Mention #2 of the Month
Greg Smith
Clearwater, FL

Photo Courtesy of GregSmithGuitar.com



Having started with pop rock and blues in his preteens,Greg Smith rapidly progressed through his studies of jazz fusion, straight ahead jazz and chord melody. He attended Berklee College of Music in the early 1970s studying with Pay Metheny. Having been at it over 40 years,Greg has played everything from jazz to country,classical and beyond. He has studied with Larry Coryell who says"Greg is a great guitar player;he's got great technique,fabulous ideas, and his sense of timing is right on the mark".Greg has been composing since he began to play and has recently written a string quartet and a fantasia for viola,bassoon and full orchestra.

Listen for the Greg Smith track "Above The Clouds" from his "Above The Clouds" CD on WHITESTER RADIO-SMOOTH JAZZ

- David White

June 1st, 2006
Greg Smith – Above the Clouds
3 Stars out of 4

Guitarist Greg Smith is originally from Central New York. His artistic journey has brought him to the Tampa Bay, Florida area where he is a successful musician on the club circuit. In the past, he’s played with Larry Coryell, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea. His latest CD, entitled “Above the Clouds” is a musical journey through Jazz, New Age and a bit of Americana. The recording is a refreshing change of pace from the usual jazz routine. What I liked about Smith’s CD were helpful explanations of the tracks to on the liner notes. It gives the listener an insight to what Smith was thinking about while writing the tracks. Some tracks, like "Mountain Hike" were self explanatory and relaxing & some tracks like "Lava" leaves the listener enthralled. It's an interesting vision into a musicians thoughts. Thought provoking and facinating.
- Mike James/ Smooth jazz and more radio central new yrk

Greg Smith's Above the Clouds is a transformation of spirit and guitar working in close proximity. It's teflon coating with just the right amount of sandpaper to keep you on your toes. His sense of phrasing and timing are impeccable. - Upbeat and more webradio/Richard Kolp

Couple of days ago, I received an email from Greg Smith telling me about his new CD “Above the Clouds”. After listening to the album title song, I was sold. I couldnt resist buying the CD (http://cdbaby.com/cd/gregsmith) and add “Above the Clouds” to my playlist.

Above the Clouds is a smooth jazz CD with a touch of world music and new age. I think Greg made it with CCool Radio in mind :)

- From CC Cool web radio

Awards! Track of the Day on 24Jun2006 in Jazz
Best Guitars in Jazz, week of 19Jun2006
Best Production in Jazz, week of 19Jun2006
Best Melody in Jazz, week of 19Jun2006
Chill-Out Track in Jazz, week of 12Jun2006

- ahhhhh, peaceful and relaxing. Call me a sod, but I like the guitar artistry here. Great summer song.

-intelligent music
Beautiful performance, guitar lead is intelligent and the rhythm guitar chords is a wonderful blend! fantastic arrangement, never boring and always interesting melody going on! Mood is sweet and mellow


-Joyful
This song is very joyful and is a good song if your feeling bad. I the mood is comforting. The Performance is smooth and is great.

-Very Beautiful !!!
This song was very beautiful and the guitar was wonderful as was the bass and percussion. Really nice guitar playing !!!


-Lovely melody
A slight nautical feel to this, sailing and carefree summer holidays.
A guitar/mandolin type sound playing a good melody and some subtle percussion spread well between the speakers making it slightly ambient.
I really enjoyed the theme and the moves in this one. So performance competent and expressive - arrangement keeps it interesting and mood as I said summery and feeling good

-Spotlight on the guitarist
Nice blend of guitarist instrumentation. The arrangement good and production is overall pleasant and professional sounding. Nice job.


-this is so cool...
i feel so mellow right Now... Hey thanks Just what i needed. this is definetly one of the better songs i heard today




- various reviewers