Walter Smith III

Born in Houston, Texas, tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III pursues bold improvisation within swinging post-bop jazz and contemporary creative composition. Recognition has come through his work alongside Joshua Redman and Christian Scott, as well as his own recordings, beginning with the 2006 album Casually Introducing and continuing with 2014’s Still Casual, which featured trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and guitarist Matthew Stevens. An ongoing partnership with Stevens has produced the series In Common in 2018, In Common II in 2020, and In Common III in 2022. Smith made his Blue Note debut with Return to Casual in 2023 and followed it the next year with three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not, recorded by a quartet that included Jason Moran, Eric Harland, and Reuben Rogers.

After beginning saxophone studies at age seven, the Houston native received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music. Upon completing his music-education degree there in 2003, he earned a Graduate Diploma from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and later obtained a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Manhattan School of Music. His professional career has included performances with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Eric Reed, and numerous others. The 2006 leader debut Casually Introducing was succeeded three years later by Live in Paris.

The 2010 album III brought together Akinmusire, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Joe Sanders, and drummer Eric Harland. Still Casual appeared in 2014 with Akinmusire, pianist Taylor Eigsti, guitarist Matthew Stevens, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Kendrick Scott. Smith joined saxophonist Dayna Stephens for Reminiscent and returned to his own catalog in 2018 with the trio recording Twio, which featured saxophonist Joshua Redman and bassist Christian McBride. That same year he issued In Common, the first document of his project with Stevens, enlisting Raghavan, Marcus Gilmore, and Joel Ross.

In 2019 Smith became chair of the woodwind department at Berklee College of Music. In Common II followed in 2020 with a new lineup that paired Smith and Stevens with Micah Thomas, Linda May Han Oh, and Nate Smith. Additional collaborations with Joel Ross, Dave Stryker, and Connie Han preceded In Common III, recorded with bassist Dave Holland and pianist Kris Davis. Return to Casual, his April 2023 Blue Note debut, reunited the personnel from Still Casual, with pianist James Francies appearing on “KB + BYUS.” The 2024 Blue Note release three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not presented a quartet of fellow Texans pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland alongside Virgin Islands-born bassist Reuben Rogers.