steve smith & vital information
Steve Smith and Vital Information, featuring Steve Smith (drums), Frank Gambale (guitar), Tom Coster (keyboards) and Baron Browne (bass), is an all-star jazz group whose individual members are so in-demand that July 2006 marks the first time the band will be available for the European Summer Festivals.In the summer of 2004 Steve Smith toured with Soulbop (featuring Randy Brecker and Bill Evans), Frank Gambale toured as a member of The Chick Corea Elektric Band, also during summer 2004 Tom Coster, Baron Browne and Frank Gambale toured with Billy Cobham. In the summer of 2005 Steve Smith toured as a member of Steps Ahead (featuring Michael Mainieri, Bill Evans, Mike Stern and Richard Bona), Frank Gambale and Tom Coster toured with Billy Cobham.Now in their 23rd year since their initial 1983 release, Steve Smith and Vital Information has become a formidable jazz/fusion juggernaut whose longevity surpasses all of the major fusion groups. With the band’s 11th album, Come On In, they serve up a veritable banquet of sounds, from slamming funk and syncopated second line grooves to seriously swinging, up-tempo B-3 burners, South Indian Carnatic inspired jams and sizzling fuzoid romps. The group’s founder and drummer, Steve Smith, has a resume that stretches from Ahmad Jamal, Zakir Hussain, The Buddy Rich Big Band, Soulbop (with Randy Brecker and Bill Evans) and Steps Ahead (with Michael Brecker, Mike Stern and Mike Mainieri) to Andrea Bocelli, and Journey. It is no surprise that he won Modern Drummer Magazine’s #1 All Around Drummer award five years in a row and was voted one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time in a recent Modern Drummer readers’ poll, in 2002 Smith was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. In the last eight years, Smith has led or co-led fifteen different jazz or jazz/rock projects for the Tone Center label which include recordings with Dave Liebman, Larry Coryell, Scott Henderson and Victor Wooten. His educational Hudson Music DVD “Steve Smith - Drumset Technique and History of the U.S. Beat” is one of best selling music educational DVDs on the market. Virtuoso guitarist Frank Gambale, first hit the international scene (like Smith) playing with Jean-Luc Ponty, he later gained more attention as an ongoing member of Chick Corea’s popular and Grammy Award winning Elektric Band. Frank has also made many recordings under his own name and tours the world with his own trio. Groove-master bassist Baron Browne has toured and recorded with Gary Burton, Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, Steps Ahead and Tom Jones but has never sounded better than he does with Vital Information.
Unique keyboardist Tom Coster, whose versatility ranges from Hammond B-3 to accordion, has been firmly entrenched in the San Francisco music scene for over 30 years. He was playing with Gabor Szabo and Rahsaan Roland Kirk long before he came to prominence during his eight years with Santana, as a player, co-producer and major song writer, co-penning one of Santana’s biggest hits, ‘Europa.’ He has recorded many solo albums under his own name and has been a member of Vital Information since 1986. Tom also tours with Billy Cobham and Bill Evans.
On the band’s 11th album, Come On In, Vital Information continues to hone its “U.S. music” direction while staking out some adventurous new territory. The seasoned veterans cover a lot of bases on Come On In and do it all in such convincing fashion. There isn’t a more flexible and disciplined band of players on the jazz scene today than Vital Information. And they prove it once again on Come On In.
Critical Praise for Steve Smith & Vital Information’s COME ON IN:
“Vital Information is clearly moving towards the jazz side of the fusion equation…. while the band is leaning towards cleaner, crisper behavior, there are plenty of chops to keep fusion fans happy…. Come On In demonstrates the maturity that develops from a group of seasoned players who have been playing long enough to no longer have anything to prove. As much as the formidable skills of each musician are clear, Vital Information is becoming less and less about pure chops and more and more about establishing an identity.” - John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com
“Vital Information has evolved from a relentlessly rocking fusion outfit into a supple, funk-driven ensemble, far more attuned to the dynamics of acoustic jazz on their new recording, Come On In, expands upon its rootsy approach, building on the fierce funk and captivating New Orleans beats.” - Andrew Gilbert, Down Beat
“Vital Information is one of improvised music’s best-kept secrets, the tunes are adventurous and they always groove. The musicians shoot for, and achieve, real emotion rather than soulless fireworks.” - Felix Contreras, JazzTimes
“Vital Information means business on their 11th album. Hard to believe this project started 21 years ago Smith is the perfect blend of virtuosity and taste, America’s premier jazz/fusion export continues to get better with age.” - Don Zulaica, Drum!
“Drummer Smith and this powerhouse band prove once again they are just about the best fusion band in music.” - Bob Karlovits, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Come On In features some of their finest music. This set, which crosses many musical boundaries, reveals Steve Smith’s Vital Information to be one of the most underrated bands in modern jazz…” - Scott Yanow, All Music Guide