"Absolutely brilliant.....
A boogie piano maestro with a top class band ... a great performance"
- PAUL JONES - BBC RADIO 2
"Dazzlingly accomplished
boogie woogie and blues piano" -
THE GUARDIAN
"This guy is something else
- he sure knows the blues.... I ain't seen nothin' like this since Otis
Spann and Memphis Slim" -
MOJO BUFORD
"A serious challenger to Jools Holland as the UK's
number 1 boogie pianist"
BLUES IN BRITAIN
"Daniel Smith is the
only man I've seen play bottleneck piano (with a beer bottle). He is quite
simply one of the UK's finest... he just gets better." - BLUES AND
RHYTHM
"Daniel Smith is one of the best blues pianists on the European circuit.
He can boogie, swing and slam out slow blues like an old master - always
crisp, note perfect and his adventutous approach always makes you sit
up and listen." -
RED LICK MAGAZINE
"For small-combo jump
blues look no further than The Daniel Smith Blues Band."
BLUES REVIEW,
USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Radio Interview on BBC Radio Norfolk - Click
Listen & Read
Daniel also
spoke to BBC Radio 4/World Service
as part of the Year Of The Blues feature.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five Nominations
for the
British Blues Connection's annual
BEST UK BLUES KEYBOARDIST
A PERSONAL BIOG
Daniel Smith is described as the world's greatest Dutch-Indonesian-Anglo-Scottish
blues and boogie woogie piano player - and it's probably true! He learnt
boogie woogie from his Dutch-Indonesian uncle on regular visits to Holland,
his mother's family having emigrated there post-War from Djakarta, Indonesia.
Daniel's Warrington-born father, the artist Bryan Smith, also inspired
the young Daniel (having met Daniel's mother on an art scholarship in
Amsterdam and moved with his young family to Dollar, Scotland) with his
record collection of
Fats Domino, Memphis Slim and Jerry Lee Lewis LPs.
Daniel then gave up piano for 8 years, as he left Scotland, studied languages,
coached tennis, tried to become a pro-cricketer, trained as a teacher
and taught overseas in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Egypt and Portugal.
He returned to the UK in 1994, since when he taught in London for 13 years,
most recently as Head Of Special Needs in a large
comprehensive before giving up full-time teaching to
concentrate on music and moving back to
Scotland, where he now lives.
Back in 1994, on hearing a radio ad on Jazz FM,
Daniel had to be forced to attend an audition for
Sonny Black, whom he joined, thinking he wouldn't
be good enough! Daniel has since not looked back
and formed his own band in 1999, which is still
going strong today. He has recorded seven albums,
six of which are still available
MUSIC BIOG. Daniel Smith is one
of the most exciting talents to emerge on the British blues scene in recent
years. In 1994, he first shot to prominence with Sonny Black,
gaining rave reviews from press, audiences and fellow musicians alike.
2000 saw him launch his own solo career and form The Daniel Smith
Blues Band.
Virtuoso live
performances, his acclaimed debut album 'Southside Boogie'
- re-released in 2006, BBC Radio sessions, several
Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival appearances
as well as appearances on the European festival circuit have earned him
as string of nominations as Best UK Blues Keyboardist.
In 2002 he released the
album "Dreamtime", also featuring BBC
award-winning saxophonist Alan Barnes, to much
acclaim and BBC radio play and launched on the
New Note record label in April 2003. He has since
recorded three more CDs, the band project
'Chicken
and Egg' ("For small-combo jump blues,
look no further." Blues Review, USA) as well as
an acoustic collaboration with George Pearson,
'Sitting On Top Of The World' ("one of the best
British blues albums I've heard." Red Lick
Magazine) and his recent excellent and popular
solo piano showcase, 'So Low Boogie'.
Collaboration
with the other side of the Atlantic is also testament to Daniel's talent,
with some fantastic critical acclaim for his recordings in the USA
blues press and tours with American artists old and new - Mojo
Buford, ex-Muddy Waters harp man and latterly, Dave Specter,
the dynamically impressive Chicago-based Delmark guitarist. These collaborations
have lead to fulsome praise, comparisons with some of the American blues
piano greats and invitations to play Stateside.
As a solo
artist and with The Daniel Smith Blues Band, Daniel mixes
virtuoso driving barrelhouse boogie woogie with an authentic down-homeblues
piano style, reflecting influences from Albert Ammons, Memphis Slim
and Otis Spann through to Jools Holland.
This is flavoured
with refreshing and rhythmic Dr John/Professor Longhair-inspired
New Orleans material and cool, classy Gene Harris/ Ramsey
Lewis jazz-blues grooves; excellent original material
and his soulful bluesy voice set him apart as an exceptional performer.
He has a rare
technical and musical ability to produce sustained and inspired keyboards
work across the whole spectrum of the blues genre. Whether
performing standards or his excellent original material,
Daniel Smith is commonly recognised as an outstanding keyboards talent
and a boogie woogie pianist without parallel.
Add to this his
dry, laid-back, on-stage humour and an absolute
killer band - (featuring some of Britain's finest, most experienced musicians)
- and you have a class act invoking a genuine sense of the old-time, good-time
barrelhouse and speakeasy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEWS
February 2008
Mark Olbrich, formerly with PeteMiles (Drums) in various
bands, joins the Daniel Smith Blues Band for their Durham tour as
well as a couple of dates in April. Check him
out at:www.thebluesbass.com
September 2006 Daniel will be going full-time in music from September
2006. Enquiries and bookings via the usual
contact details on this website.
July/August 2006
Daniel plans another Scottish tour, this time with the full band, again
including the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival as well
as other gigs.
April 2006
Daniel plans to re-release his debut CD, Southside Boogie due to popular
demand and to tour it summer 2006.
November 2005 - March 2006
The Daniel Smith Blues Band resume touring on the Arts Council's rural
arts touring programme covering Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire,
Worcestershire and Drbyshire among others.
October 2005
The band are touring with Dave Specter from Chicago, USA, the respected
guitarist with a four-album portfolio with Delmark Records on a whistlestop
one-week UK tour. Daniel has already been invited to Chicago to play with
Dave Specter in the USA.
Daniel Smith and Jon T-Bone Taylor Aikman's Cellar Bar, St Andrews28/11/07
Blues In Britain magazine
The crowd at Aikman’s soon filled out as show-time approached. Although Aikman's is one of their regular stopping off points, this was my first encounter with the pair as a duo.
There was no script or set list here, with the dynamic duo (Smith on
piano, Taylor on guitar) just playing it as they felt it all night
long. Both were on top form, as they pounded and picked their way
through a couple of excellent sets of blues, boogie woogie and jazz
from the likes of Big Bill Broonzy ("Key To The Highway"), Ray Charles
("Hallelujah I Love Her So") and Chuck Berry ("Johnny B. Goode").
Whilst most of the material on offer was not original, it was served up
in a very original way, with Smith often setting out on one tune, and
eventually ending up back there having taken Taylor on a journey that
even digressed into Beethoven, and Elton John!
Taylor was more than equal to the task, though, and whilst several of the crowd may not have been there just to watch the duo, by the end they had pretty much all been won over. This was helped in no small part by an improvised boogie-woogie version of Happy Birthday for one of the punters.
It all added up to a hugely entertaining evening. Smith's banter
raised plenty of smiles in the crowd; I never knew, for example, that "Bright Lights Big City" was inspired by St Andrews! Taylor just let
his fingers do his talking for him. The natural symbiosis between the
two was a delight to behold.
Anyone who stayed home to watch the football missed a real treat. Make sure you catch them next time around.
Gordon Baxter, Blues in Britain
The Daniel Smith Blues Band Kettleshulme Village Hall, Cheshire 5/10/07
Blues In Britain magazine
This was the Daniel Smith Blues Band's second gig on a tour encompassing four separate villages on successive nights arranged by Cheshire's Rural Touring Network as part of their Autumn event programme. The B5470, by day considered to be one of the friendliest hill roads in the Peak District, certainly takes on a different aspect at night, and it was with some relief on alighting in a seemingly deserted Kettleshulme to be directed to the village hall in the company of a local couple who had literally just stepped out of their front door to go to the gig.
The keyboard maestro warmed up the good sized audience with three numbers from his Chicken and Egg CD. The title track, 'Bossing the Blues' and 'Friday Night' allowed fellow members Jon T-Bone Taylor, (guitar) George Pearson (bass) and Pete Miles (drums) ample room to flex their musical muscles. 'Swannee River' has remained a favourite in Daniel's instrumental repertoire since his days with Sonny Black and was attacked with his usual panache before slowing things down for Jon's subtle guitar to take prominence on Bessie Smith's 'Ain't Nobody's Business’. The next number found Daniel, metaphorically, placing himself in the lion's den. The challenge of getting a barrelhouse boogie out of a neglected upright that stood beside the stage proved irresistible, and was gloriously achieved after he removed its top, allowing Jon (still on the platform) to continually loosen the stiff hammers with the aid of a long pole window-opener; combining the sparkle of a Fourth of July baton-twirler with the military efficiency of a Sealed Knot pikeman! 'Hey John', (one of Daniel's up-tempo originals) found T-Bone's outstandingly fluid fretwork featured heavily once again before George, on semi-acoustic guitar, took centre stage for the next two numbers. Cyril Tawney’s 'Sally Free and Easy' rode a gentle rumba rhythm. The first half concluded with more fleet-fingered magic from Daniel on the rumbling 'Southside Boogie'.
Proceedings reopened leisurely with 'Hallelujah I Love Her So' and 'Key To The Highway', before the band's tightness was emphasized when Robert Lockwood Jnr's 'Take A Little Walk With Me' segued into a fantastic Ramsey Lewis styled 'The In Crowd' before metamorphasising once again into the frantic 'Boogie Bash'. Pete was then given his own chance to shine when his fellow band members left the stage allowing him to launch into a mesmeric drum solo involving the full spectrum of the kit that, as it progressed, gave every indication of continuing well into the night. Not even Daniel, menacingly brandishing a fire extinguisher, could dampen his enthusiasm - the drummer simply incorporated it into his percussive armoury, leaving the hapless band leader, still holding the apparatus, to trade long-suffering looks with the audience like a slim-line Oliver Hardy. When normal service was resumed it was back into jazzy territory with the swinging original 'Dream Time' reminiscent of some of Dave Brubeck's compositions. Jon's killer Blues licks on 'Johnny B. Goode' ably demonstrated that this perennial favourite doesn't have to be taken at motor racing pace to be exciting before he and Daniel, prompted by half time requests, made a popular return to the upright raising the roof again with another wonderful improvised boogie medley that incorporated the piano styles of Jerry Lee Lewis, George Gershwin, Russ Conway and even Les Dawson along the way! The rhythm section returned for a tough version of Lieber and Stoller's 'Kansas City' that concluded a fabulous night's entertainment.
Martin Byrom, Blues in Britain
Check additional info on Daniel's gigs, venues,
his blog, free teach-yourself resources, tuition
updates and much more at: www.myspace.com/danielsmithbluesband
Brand New! Released December 2006:
'So Low Boogie' - Daniel's brand new solo
piano blues and boogie woogie CD, 10 tracks, 9
originals, stomping boogies, melodic
self-compositions, old-style downhome
rough-and-ready piano blues, soulful blues/jazz
crossover tracks and more. Now available.
£13.00 per copy inc P&P, cheques to Daniel Smith, Cluny Cottage,
32 Seaside Place,
Aberdour,
Fife,
KY3 0TX, Scotland.
12 TRACKS - 9 ORIGINALS ALL CLASSICS ... brilliant
boogie woogie, dynamite downhome Chicago, blistering blues-rock, cool-infused
jazz/blues crossover and a dash of New Orleans - an absolute must!
Simply send cheque (payable to DANIEL SMITH)
for £13 per copy (including P&P) (20 euros) along with your address
and telephone number to Daniel Smith, Cluny Cottage,
32 Seaside Place,
Aberdour,
Fife,
KY3 0TX, Scotland.
I''ll lay out my opinion from the off, as far
as this reviewer is concerned - Dan Smith is one hell of a piano player.
He delivers thundering boogies with a rock solid left hand ("Dean's Boogie",
"Boogie Woogie On Swanee River"). He can also lay down a thumping Amos
Milburn type blues ("Friday Night") with Dave Briggs (no relation to our
esteemed reviews editor) on vocal.
Want a little soul jazz? Smith can do that
as well ("Hey John", "Jungle Juice,") or a straight ahead blues instrumental
like "Captian Morgan" with Alan Glen providing the harp solo. It's all
here in the grooves of this cracking twelve tracker.
Strongly recommended to fans of blues piano
everywhere.
Phil Wight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
BLUES REVIEW MAGAZINE, USA
"For small-combo jump blues, look no further
than the Daniel Smith Blues Band, whose Chicken
and Egg (Pinetops 44) is divided
between instrumentals and vocal numbers.
Hear rollicking boogie-woogies ("Dean's Boogie", "Swanee River"),jazzy
tracks (the title song is cut from the same cloth as "The In Crowd"),and
blues (Eddie Boyd's "Too Bad", "Friday Night", "Take A Gamble On Me").
"Hey John", a sad note to a suicide ("Why did you do what you did that
day?"), is full of tension, sung over upbeat music broken only by a couple
of stormy guitar solos. "Voodoo King" is spare, haunting, yet swinging.
On the hot "Captain Morgan", Dino Coccia hits a snappy double shuffle,
Smith's piano sparkles, and Alan Glen turns in throaty guitar and meltdown
harp."
Distributed
by New Note Records and available in all good record stores
Featuring:
Alan Barnes - award-winning saxophonist
Dave Briggs - guitar
Dino Coccia - drums
Roger Cotton - Hammond organ player with Peter
Green Splinter Group
Alan Glen - guitar & harmonica from The
Yardbirds
Jon T-Bone Taylor - guitar
Jeff Walker - bass
12 TRACKS - 11 ORIGINALS ALL CLASSICS ... brilliant
boogie woogie, dynamite downhome Chicago, blistering blues-rock, cool-infused
jazz/blues crossover and a dash of New Orleans - an absolute must!
Simply send cheque (payable to DANIEL SMITH)
for £13 per copy (including P&P) (20 euros) along with your address
and telephone number to Daniel Smith, Cluny Cottage,
32 Seaside Place,
Aberdour,
Fife,
KY3 0TX, Scotland.
Back by popular demand, Daniel
Smith's exciting, excellent and popular debut album, Southside Boogie
(2000) has been remastered, re-released and has three brand new stomping
boogie piano solo bonus tracks to boot.
Simply send cheque (payable to DANIEL SMITH) for £13 per copy (including
P&P) (20 euros) along with your address and telephone number to Daniel Smith, Cluny Cottage,
32 Seaside Place,
Aberdour,
Fife,
KY3 0TX, Scotland.
Please allow 14 days
for delivery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Releases/Quotes
"Undoubtedly
one of the UK's leading blues and boogie woogie keyboards players today."
The Stage
"Daniel Smith is one of the most exciting young
pianists to emerge on the UK blues scene in recent years. Dynamic and
extremely talented, he is clearly gifted technically, yet retains a refreshing,
down-to-earth and very rhythmic style, which he blends expertly with his
very expressive vocals." Just Jazz
"His
debut album could have been recorded in some smoky 'N'Awlins' roadhouse...
the boy sure knows his way around the blue notes on an old Joanna. With
shades of Pinetop Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis and Dr John, this is accelerator
crushing stuff."Classic American Car magazine
"Astounding boogie piano. Smith works up a
real sweat, squeezing more notes into three minutes than most people manage
in a lifetime." Blues on Stage
"Smith has a delightful light-fingered touch,
conjuring up the magic of the great blues pianists and the boogie woogie
masters." Juke Blues
"Daniel Smith.... blends subtlety, power, feeling
and tremendous ability, reflecting the influence of Memphis Slim and Dr
John - he plays a mean, driving, barrelhouse boogie woogie." Venue Magazine
"Daniel Smith is out of the top drawer... he
is awesome on keyboards." Scott Duncan, Blueprint
"His foot-tapping boogie woogie blew me away
- he turned the place into a good time barrelhouse." Linda Fisher, Blueprint
"Keyboardist Dan Smith is a superb soloist
in his own right." Blues Review, USA
"Rocking piano blues and stompin' boogie woogie."
Time Out
"On the self-penned 'Southside Boogie' [Daniel]
Smith works up a real sweat, squeezing more notes into 3 minutes than
most people manage in a lifetime." Blues On Stage
"... the best boogie piano heard in a long
time... with his jazzy vocals, this guy is seriously talented!" Blueprint
"Dazzlingly accomplished boogie woogie and
blues pianist." The Guardian
HUMOUR provided the keynote for the Daniel Smith Blues Band on Saturday at The Maltings Arts Theatre in St Albans.
Had Daniel Smith not been the king of the keyboards, he would still have won a few hearts with his sardonic, dry sense of humour - and his hunky dark good looks didn't go unnoticed either by my female companions.
It made a refreshing change to have a keyboard player at the centre of the action instead of the inevitable guitarist. Not that democratic Dan hogged the limelight. I've never seen such a generous frontman making sure his players got their fair share of the limelight.
Even drummer Pete Miles scored a 10-minute drum solo. It's a long time since I've seen that but then it's rare to find a drummer of this calibre who can capture people's attention with a flick of a stick.
After leaving the stage to the drums, Daniel came back on holding a fire extinguisher which caused a chuckle but, just as we wondered if this was a hint to wind it up, he held it up horizontally for Pete to play.
This band look at each other, "talk" to each other in a non-verbal way and appreciate each other in the way that true professionals acknowledge each others' skills.
What struck me was that we had no flim-flam. No-one was glammed up or striking poses. The window-dressing was superfluous because these guys can play.
Lead guitarist Jon 'T-Bone' Taylor, hunched over his instrument in such a contorted, loving way you could almost see him suffering for his art, made me think of a chef slaving over a hot stove but he certainly cooked up a storm.
Bass player George Pearson - in true deadpan bass-player style - kept in the background but blossomed when he sang a couple of numbers. I almost think he is a better blues singer than Daniel.
But when you play boogie-woogie like Dan the man you don't need a strong vocal ability. I felt he was at his happiest on the instrumental numbers. Don't get me wrong. The man can sing but it's carried by his powerful playing.
Just running one hand lightly across a few keys he could create a whole range of sound so fluent, so rich that you could only marvel at his control.
As the evening drew to a close he treated us to a rendering of bottleneck piano playing - something I had never seen before.
Another first on the night included a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. Move over Jools Holland - a new king of the keyboards reigns.
Once again Bob Ayre, who puts on these storming blues sessions under his Shades of Blues umbrella, has brought something spellbindingly wonderful to St Albans. We owe him a debt of thanks.
The Daniel Smith
Blues Band
Woodborough Village Hall, Nottingham December 2005
Blues In Britain
I'd wager that the capacity crowd at this event
contained a fair number of blues virgins and that a majority would not
count themselves as blues fans. 1 understand the idea is to bring music
to rural communities that might not otherwise have access to it and, judging
by the number of dancers and the standing ovation at the end, the four
performers should congratulate themselves on a job well done.
Daniel (keyboard, vocals), Jon 'T-Bone'Taylor
(guitar), George Pearson (bass, vocals) and Damon Sawyer (drums) kicked
off with a fast shuffle and individual solos showcasing each player in
turn. "Kansas City", Jimmy McGriff style organ fills and fluid
guitar, preceded an impromptu "Woodborough Boogie" and a highly
syncopated version of Willie Dixon's "My Babe". Daniel's classy
arpeggios and cascades featured on "Fast Train Boogie" over
solid bass and rhythm guitar, before a masterly Brazilian rumba style
drum solo. Slow blues is the measure of any band and Daniel's own "Just
Because" was delightful, Jon's sweet jazzy style blending beautifully
with the piano, but the deliberate discords were just as effective. George
took over vocals on Robert Johnson's "Rambling On My Mind",
playing rhythm guitar for some nice interaction with Jon's lead. An exciting
John Lee Hooker style boogie gave way to the double whammy of Sam the
Sham's "Woolly Bully" and Booker T's "Green Onions",
both given an enjoyably dirty edge. Contrast came with the fluent classical
piano intro to Smith's rocker "Playing Your Fool". Then the
band got serious with Hobert Lockwood's "Take A Walk With Me"
simultaneously swinging and rocking, Jon carrying off an impressive Buddy
Guy style walkabout and some great, double-speed playing recalling Roy
Buchanan. There was something for everyone in the second half: a bossa
nova, a superb "Sitting On Top Of The World", a New Orleans
style "Friday Night", more classical piano with "Fur Elise"
undergoing astounding jazzy mutation and lots more. A real party atmosphere
developed and the space at the front packed with dancers. The evening
was a resounding success and converted many to the blues.
Dave Kingsbury
Daniel Smith
at The Devizes Festival The Devizes Gazette 'A
Breath Of Fresh Air'
This year's Devizes Festival was by far the
best since it started. The wildly enthusiastic public response has been
overwhelming.
One of the highlights was the dazzlingly accomplished
boogie woogie piano playing of Daniel Smith, who entertained a packed
audience with a virtuoso performance.
Playing a wide range of music from Clarence
Pinetop Smith and Albert Ammons to Jools Holland, this star of the piano
had people whooping with joy and pleasure at his playing.
With his left hand laying down a rock solid
beat and his right hand improvising the impossible runs, this was musicianship
of the highest quality.
The Daniel Smith Blues Band
Bluesnights at Dorchester Arts Centre 2004 Blues In Britain
We had great pleasure in inviting Daniel Smith
to our venue for his second appearance. In the three years since his first
visit his status within the British blues scene has grown considerably,
helped by a mixture of high profile appearances - e.g. the Edinburgh Festival,
BBC Radio - coupled with the all important relentless gigging.
I had been singularly impressed by his first
concert, and was not disappointed by this second. This man has an incredible
dexterity; his hands just flow up and down the keyboard with what seems
effortless mastery. His richly varied repertoire consists of blues, boogie,
and plenty of his own compositions. Aiding Daniel in the delivery of them
are a superb rhythm section: Jim Mercer (ex-Paul Lamb) on double and electric
bass, Dino Coccia on drums and Alan Glen (ex Yardbirds, Dr. Feelgood and
Nine Below Zero) on guitar, harp and vocals. Dino and Alan are, of course,
well known for being two-thirds of the blues/jazz trio The Barcodes.
"Southside Boogie", an instrumental, set the
tone for the evening. A smooth accomplished work giving the audience a
clear indication of what to expect. Straight into a fast paced boogie,
phenomenal hand techniques and a bass solo to go with it. One after the
other - Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann, Little Walter Jacobs - this band was swinging,
rolling, and boogying as tight as you could get. Sitting there watching
and listening, letting this superb musicianship unfold in front of us
was a real joy. Daniel engaged his audience with plenty of dry asides
and anecdotes cementing his relationship with them. A truly wonderful
first set.
The second set started with "Boogie Bash",
one of Daniel's own numbers, a rocking swinger featuring a short sharp
harp solo from Alan Glen. The following number was an extended instrumental
with very interesting mood changes and rhythms. One number that really
stood out was "Dreamtime", the title track from the current album, and
played unusually in the key of E Flat. This was absolutely beautiful,
very moody and haunting! The next number showcased the talents of Jim
Mercer on his arrangement of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Highway 61".
With Jim taking the vocals and providing a real driving bass line they
were off into a really superb R&B workout. These last two numbers
were certainly the high point of the evening for me and it also showed
how versatile they are as a band. Some Howling Wolf and Meade Lux Lewis
followed and a thoroughly deserved encore where Jim showed us how to play
the bass lying down with him reclining along the body of the instrument.
All good fun and it rounded off an especially wonderful evening of first
class entertainment. To be honest I don't think it can get much better
than this! If you haven't seen them yet then you should make an effort
to do so!
magazine
has this to say
-
BLUES REVIEW MAGAZINE, USA
Distributed
by New Note Records and available in all good record stores 
