SASHA SMITH
Los Angeles, California, United States
Music
Press
"Sasha Smith is so ace and amazing . . . " - Becky Stark review on Paper Thin Walls
LA Times 2008 Buzz Band
Kevin Bronson - LA Times
" You guys are monsters!"
-Jenny C - just verbal
Jan 2007 Issue
Andrew Stockdale, lead singer of Wolf Mother writes:
BEST NEW ARTIST: Winter Flowers are this folk band based in L.A. who we played with at the Arthur Festival. To me the sound like classic Neil Young - when you hear their music you think, 'Wow, that can't be their song. It as to be a cover.' Their live show is just a few people sitting on stools, looking like something directly out of 1968. It makes you want to pick up a joint. - Rolling Stone
Sasha's familiarity and obvious comfort with both blues and jazz forms, combined with his stunning and individual style, rival that of musicians many, many years his senior. - Blues Review Magazine
“You heard it here first: Sasha Smith is a monster. . . keyboard player from the wilds of Sonoma County, California, not only has outstanding chops but musical ideas and sophistication . . .”
~From Blues Access, by Cary Wolfson - Blues Access Magazine
“Sasha Smith is a phenomenal keyboard player. When he was 13, Sasha received a standing ovation at the 1994 Sonoma County Blues Festival. Sasha Smith is a first rate composer . . .”
~The Blue Highway, Curtis Hewston - Blue Highway
I gotta admit to having a fairly strong sexist streak so when I saw the name Sasha Smith I kinda hoped it was a chick singer. Once my expectations were dashed though I was quite happy with what I found. Sounding like a more operetic Billy Joel or a folkier Ben Folds, Sasha is a fixure on the California freak folk scene but his tunefulness betrays that crowd. “Oklahoma” is taken from a new six song ep. - Songs Illinois
Busy w/ the Blues
Blues and jazz-based singer/songrwiter/pianist SASHA SMITH hasn't just been dreaming it since he was a wee lad - he's actually been doing it. By the time he was 15, Smith had released two acclaimed records on his very own BucknBronx label, performed at the Monterey Blues Festival, and opened for the likes of Johnny Otis and Marvin Hamlisch.
Since then, he has taken on recording apprenticeships with Tom Waits and Les Claypool, and has released a third album recorded live with his trio titled Live From Pleasantville.
The Sasha Smith Trio is appearing twice in the LA area next month. Catch them at the Knitting Factory on May 2nd and at The Derby May 25th. - Music Connection Magazine
Discography
Sasha Smith - The Bank Sessions Oct. 2008
Eric Corne Kid Dynamite - Oct. 2008
Østein Greni sessions with James Gadson 2008
Jesca Hoop - Kismet (Sony/Columbia) 2007
Jesca Hoop - KCRW live on air/video 2007
Jesca Hoop - Yahoo! Music Launch 2007
The February Fifths - Chestnut 2007
Winter Flowers - Picture Disc (Manimal Vinyl) 2007
Sasha Smith EP 2006
Songs by Sasha Smith & Steve Deutsch (Spacebar Records) 2006
Winter Flowers (Attacknine/Darla Records) 2006
Sasha Smith Unreleased - 2005
Sasha Laen Smith CalArts 2003
Pro Bonus Volumes I - V 2003-2008
Sasha Smith - SS3 - 2000
Tommy Malone - Soul Heavy (Louisiana Red Hot) 2000
Sasha Smith - Spring 1996
Sasha Smith - Straight Up 1994
Photos
Bio
Sasha Smith (over 400 shows and counting)
As a scrawny young lad Sasha's mom sent him to classical piano lessons while his father played boogie-woogie and blues records at home; somewhere in-between the classical lessons and learning-by-ear from the recordings of Albert Ammons, Johnnie Johnson and James Booker, Sasha began bugging local Northern Californian musicians like Johnny Otis and Stu Blank to show him their way of playing music. At the time, Stu was playing dark hole-in-the-wall bars that were difficult for Sasha to get into because of his age. Stu would help Sasha sneak in through the back door and let him sit in only to be kicked out by the bar tender after a song or two. These were formative piano years and Johnny and Stu took a liking to him and Sasha soon became the little piano kid playing all of the hot venues and festivals around town. After releasing two instrumental CD's by age 15, receiving flattering reviews from national music magazines like Blues Revue and Blues Access, local radio DJ and concert promoter Bill Bowker noticed Sasha and started to book him and spin his tunes on KRSH. One of his tunes even became the theme music for the daily events announcement. Sasha soon branched out to San Francisco playing at the San Francisco Chronicles 4th of July Waterfront Festival and the Monterey Bay Blues Festival.
At 17, Sasha apprenticed with Tom Waits and Les Claypool at their respective recording studios. The experience opened his eyes to a lyrical process he had never ventured towards. Later that year Sasha packed up and went to school at CalArts for music in Los Angeles and began writing in a whole new way from the formative years. He played piano in the CalArts Country Band indulging in the sweet sounds of Hank Williams Sr., Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and, occasionally, Hank Williams Jr. He also played piano in Charlie Haden's CalArt's Liberation Orchestra.
Before departing CalArts, Sasha formed a band and has since been playing all over California, opening shows for artists like Maria Maldaur, The Ditty Bops, Lavender Diamond, and Eric Bibb. Firmly rooted in Los Angeles he divides his time playing his own shows, supporting major label and indie artists as a session player, and composing for TV/Film.
Sasha has shared the stage with Randy Newman, Devendra Banhart, Ariel Pink, Sinead OConner, Johnnie Johnson, Jimmy McGriff, Roy Rogers, Norton Buffalo, Tommy Castro, Michele Shocked, Roger McGuinn, Johnny Otis, Maria Muldaur, Doyle Bramhall I and II, and Marvin Hamlisch. He has performed at many festivals and radio stations including SXSW (supporting Jesca Hoop), The Monterey Blues Festival, The SF Chronicle Waterfront Festival, The Morro Bay Harbor Festival, The Sonoma County Blues Festival, and the Sonoma County Folk Festival, KCRW, WXPN, KRSH, KPIG and NPR.
Links