“A tenor saxophonist for our times.” – The Guardian
Tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III leads an exciting quartet featuring pianist James Francies, bassist Harish Raghavan, and fellow Houston native, drummer Kendrick Scott. Since his debut nearly two decades ago, Smith has become a cornerstone of the jazz scene, contributing to legendary groups such as Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth Band, the Terence Blanchard Quintet, Eric Harland’s Voyager, and the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, as well as collaborations with Jason Moran, Christian McBride, Gerald Clayton, and the Sean Jones Quintet, among many others.
JazzWise praises Smith for expressing his deep modern jazz roots with “an airy tenor sax tone and a ferocious yet understated.” Meanwhile, Downbeat highlights his “killing” tone and melodicism, noting his “vast and beautiful flow of ideas.”