Walter Smith III

Smith began playing the saxophone at the age of seven in his hometown of Houston, Texas. His father was an elementary music teacher. His first gig was at a McDonald's.[1] While at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, he received a Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship from the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA); the NFAA Young Talent Award; a full-tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music; and a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts medal. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Education. He later earned a Graduate Diploma at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Smith earned his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School of Music.

Smith has performed in numerous national and international festivals and on stages in the U.S. such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. He has shared the stage and recorded with many jazz notables, including Terence Blanchard, Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Joe Lovano, Bob Hurst, Myron Walden, Walter Beasley, Lewis Nash, Terri Lyne Carrington, and others. To date, he has made more than 37 recordings.[2]

Smith's debut recording as a leader was released in March 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and features Ambrose Akinmusire, Aaron Parks, Reuben Rogers, Eric Harland, and Kendrick Scott, and others.[3] His sophomore release, entitled Live in Paris, was released in October 2009 featuring Ambrose Akinmusire, Aaron Goldberg, Matt Brewer, and Marcus Gilmore. His most recent album, III, was released in September 2010; It features Ambrose Akinmusire, Jason Moran, Joe Sanders, and Eric Harland.[4] Smith is currently signed to Blue Note Records and is currently the chair of the woodwind department at the Berklee College of Music.