WICN Artist of the Month, July 2026: Nate Smith

Stretching across genres has never been much of a stretch for July’s Artist of the Month, Nate Smith. The Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and producer just began his tenure as the third artistic director for the Newport Jazz Festival, which described him as an overall “musical connector.”

In part of that role as connector, Smith’s goals as artistic director include his “hope to help foster a more personal connection between fans and artists, in an effort to ensure that our beloved music continues to thrive.”

He’ll also be performing on the second day of this year’s storied 72-year-old festival, which takes place July 31-Aug. 2 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI.

Smith’s latest album LIVE-ACTION fuses jazz, neo-soul, and funk, with collaborators including rapper JSWISS, vocal quartet säje, guitarist Lionel Loueke, and a dozen more. Inspired by iconic producer Quincy Jones, LIVE-ACTION was created as a producer-led project. Even as Smith moved beyond the boundaries of genre, he maintained a consistent sound and live quality by using the same instruments, recording with analog equipment, and working with only a couple of takes for each track.

In February, Smith won two Grammy awards for LIVE-ACTION and a single from the album, “Big Fish.” In his acceptance speech, he emphasized the spirit of LIVE-ACTION: “Live music is our last stand.”

Nate Smith was born Ira Nathaniel Smith in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 14, 1974.

Drumming was an early interest of Smith’s, inspired by his older brother who played the drums in a high school marching band, but it wasn’t until he was 16 that he fell for jazz upon hearing Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.

In a profile for the New York Times, Elena Bergeron described Smith as “kindly, professorial” in the way he speaks and carries himself. Smith brings this kind, professorial bearing to his role in supporting young musicians. From social media tutorials to the masterclass he hosted at last year’s Montreal International Jazz Festival, Smith has been following in the footsteps of his own mentors to guide the next generation.

One such mentor was singer Betty Carter, who invited Smith to her Jazz Ahead program in 1996. The two played together at New York’s Blue Note when Smith was only 20 years old. Nearly twenty years later, in 2013 and 2014, Smith returned to Jazz Ahead to teach.

As a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Smith co-wrote and produced “Heaven Can Wait,” a song that ended up on Michael Jackson’s 2001 album Invincible.

VCU is also where Smith met bassist Dave Holland. In 2003, Smith joined Holland’s quintet and toured the world with them. He’s gone on to tour or collaborate with saxophonist Chris Potter and his band Underground, vocalist-guitarist Brittany Howard, rapper-singer Childish Gambino, The Fearless Flyers, vocalist-pianist Norah Jones, vocalist-pianist Jon Batiste, and dozens more. Nate Smith has many strengths, and being a thoughtful collaborator has long been on that list.

Smith also received two Grammy nominations in 2018 for “Home Free (For Peter Joe)” a single from Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere, his first album as bandleader. In 2021, Smith built on the story he began with the release of Kinfolk 2: See the Birds. The two albums are part of a planned semi-autobiographical trilogy that traverses Smith’s artistic journey, where Kinfolk explores his childhood and Kinfolk 2 his teen years.

Another project of Smith’s is Pocket Change, a solo drum set album that he put out in 2018 with 11 tracks of improvisation based around simple grooves. A key part of the project was a Pocket Change transcription book, which allowed other drummers to study Smith’s choices. He followed it up with 2023’s Pocket Change 2: Mad Currency.