The legacy of Christy Smith, who was a great international musician, bassist, band leader, arranger, composer and teacher.

Christy Smith was a professional international musician, bassist, band leader, arranger, composer and teacher.
Christy Smith has performed at well known Jazz festivals in Asia, like the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur International Jazz Festivals and is the bandleader of Christy's Communicative Artists.
Christy Smith was a graduate of California State Fullerton in music performance. He has had several years of orchestral and big band experience, having been under the baton of Aaron Copland, Keith Clark, Carmen Dragon, Pat Williams and Mercer Ellington. Christy has also worked and performed with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sarah Vaughn, Fela Kuti, Billy Higgins, Ernie Watts, Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Harold Land and many others.
Christy Smith has been based in Singapore since 1993, performing with many of the regions artists such as Jeremy Monteiro, Michael Veerapen, Lewis Pragasam, Sheila Majid and many more. He has become an important role model for aspiring musicians in the region through his teachings. Next to performing in the region, he was teaching Double Bass and Bass Guitar at United World South East Asia and Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore.

Click on the picture above to read more about the Tribute Jazz Jam and Fundraising

Christy Smith

*Nov 23rd, 1955

+Aug 11th, 2024

August 20th, 2024: Jazz singer Alemay Fernandez handing a portrait of the late Christy Smith to his wife, Dewi Smith, during his tribute, “A Song for Christy”, at Blu Jaz Café.

Click on the picture to read the article: "Arts: Rest in peace, Christy Smith". Photograph by Nick Yeo

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Esplanade: Theaters on the Bay:
We offer our deepest condolences to Christy Smith's family, loved ones, and all who will miss him in the jazz community.
Christy Smith, beloved mentor and consummate jazz artist, left a void with his passing on Sunday. In 2023, we were fortunate to actualise a project important to Christy Smith as part of Mosaic Music Series. Christy Smith’s FESTAC ‘77 was part-concert, part-retelling of his life-changing visit to Nigeria in 1977. It was a project that gave him both a sense of exhilaration and apprehension to tackle, but it was a story that he had a burning desire to tell. Christy, having immigrated to Singapore in the 1990s, inevitably became a cultural ambassador for his lineage of African-American music, bridging the tradition to many Singaporean musicians.
Senior Producer at Esplanade, XiangHui, who has worked with the jazz veteran often over the years, says that Christy generously shared his knowledge, musicality and wisdom with many others who were finding their way in the art. Learning from Christy was never solely an intellectual transmission, but a cultural one—full of humour, personality, and humanity; simply because that was what his art was like, communicative about life itself. Many in the jazz community are thus left with colourful and fond memories of interactions with him. He is deeply missed by all of us.

"SWINGING TO A NEW TUNE: SINGAPORE JAZZ 1990–2000s"

The jazz venues that made the musicians.

Published: July 3rd 2019 by Sinclair Ang

“Christy Smith is one of the main influencers on the sound of jazz in Singapore, not just due to his ability to refine musical aspects on and off the bandstand, but also his emphasis on the history and meaning of the music.”

Christy Smith with jazz cats of the 2000s at Harry's Quayside Bar.
Left to right: Christy Smith, late keyboardist Michael Stanton, keyboardist-vocalist Ernesta Dunbar, guitarist Rick Smith and drummer Eddie Layman

Watch the recordings of Christy's great live performances
by clicking on the images below:

June 11th, 2023

Christy Smith's FESTAC '77

at the

Esplanade Annexe Studio

Part auto-biographical story, part musical tribute to Fela Kuti and mentors, Christy recounts his transformative experience of FESTAC ’77 through narration and his original music. Deviating from the straight-ahead jazz sound that Christy is currently known for, this concert will be one of heavier Afrobeat-influenced music, with drummers, percussion, and a horn section, recreating the vibe of Fela’s old Afrika Shrine.

Click here for the full version of the recording of this magnificent show !

“There was a deep dynamic for me in my growth as a person an artist, warrior and spiritual being.
I want to pay some respect and homage to a great icon, and to this period of transformation in my life.”
– Christy Smith

Click on Christy's picture to read
his interview by the Esplanade Offstage

See also Christy's Blog on Black History Month 2017:

Festac 77 2nd Annual BLACK and AFRICAN FESTIVAL OF ART and CULTURE:
From the Cradle to the Now

Metal Jazz: Christy Smith at World Stage, June 17, 2022.
The World Stage kicked off Juneteenth weekend with Christy Smith, an old-time California bassist who's found a home in Singapore for the last 30 years. Just like that, Smith assembled an expert quartet: HoraceTapscott drummer Fritz Wise on drums, young phenom Jamael Dean on piano and saxist Javier Vergara on tenor. They whipped out some standards, old-skool.

Warming up on Monk's "I Mean You," the guys showcased why everybody likes Wise -- he throws down such a crisp beat, but keeps things hopping with those dramatic fills on the toms. The eyes of big-dreadlocked Dean scanned the ceiling as his fingers tumbled wildly across the keys on Cedar Walton's upbeat "Bolivia" and flowed dynamically through the Trane-via-Eckstine ballad "I Want To Talk About You." Dean cocked a special ear to Smith's bass choices; the two often traded phrases even when Smith wasn't taking off on one of his precise, quick, songlike solos. The versatile Vergara, though usually tapping his lode of energy and ideas, hit his most comfortable pocket in lowdown swinging Dex mode behind Dean's lighthearted tinkle on "Squeeze Me."

Leimert Park Beat:
Tribute to Mentors of the Arts (The new World Stage), by Christy Smith.
Growing up in Compton; Music was in our diet thanks to my parents & the radio.(KBCA 105)
Louis Thomas, Troy Robinson and John Outerbridge come to mind. Troy & John opened the Communicative Arts Academy & later moved to the Watts Towers.(This was the place we rehearse to prepare for Festac77)

I'd like to homage & give thanks to people inspired me to want to be a part of music or the musical experience. Although , to many to name Billy Higgins, Harold Land , Henry Franklin, James Leary, Wayne Vaughn, Billy Childs, Gip Noble all the cats I grew up playing w/.

I left Los Angeles 1993 for a tour in Singapore. It was very timely for me as there was sparse work after the L.A. Riots of 1992. Never plan to stay or live there ; it was the blessing I needed to continue playing my instrument. So, its so nice to be able to come from Singapore back home after the 2 years we've endured after the pandemic. I want to thank Dwight Trib(b)le & all who made it possible for the World Stage to serve the Arts to the people from the neighbourhood & to the world.

Click here to watch the video of this great show at World Stage on June 17th, 2022!

Click on the menu button for more information about
Christy's Legacy in Pictures, Videos and his Famous Blogs !

Click on the picture above to check out Christy's Pinterest page !

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