Ches Smith
Ches Smith is an American drummer, percussionist and composer, raised in Sacramento and now based in New York. He came up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he studied with Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, William Winant and Alvin Curran, and he works across free jazz, avant rock and composed music. He is also a long-time student of Haitian Vodou drumming, which he has played in religious and folkloric settings in New York and Haiti. Smith moved to the Bay Area in 1995 after studying philosophy at the University of Oregon, and toured with Mr. Bungle.
Dream Archives
The trio-debut of pianist, composer and 2025 MacArthur Fellow Craig Taborn with Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith has been eagerly awaited. In its review of the group’s live show from Fall 2025 the German daily Hamburger Abendblatt found nothing put praise for their performance, calling it “unpredictable, exhilarating”. The trio’s approach on Dream Archives is full of complexities, and as the title suggests, a wide musical spectrum is covered as multitudes of idioms seem to be pulled from history and r…
Impromptus
With “Suite for Piano” in 2022, Zorn began exploring classical forms in the context of the jazz piano trio. The second CD in the series was a beautiful collection of “Ballades,” released in July 2024. This third project presents nine Impromptus—freewheeling forms that unfold like brilliantly imaginative short stories. Brian, Jorge, and Ches outdo themselves here with telepathic interplay, endless creativity, and a courageous ability to go places that have never been discovered before. With each …
Echolocation
'Echolocation' is the astonishing debut album from Mendoza Hoff Revels, a formidable new unit led by Ava Mendoza & Devin Hoff and featuring James Brandon Lewis & Ches Smith. While Mendoza and Hoff have floated around each other's musical orbits for decades, and have been friends for some time, this is their first work together on record. It is an electric & holy harmonic fusion of highly estimable musical forces; wholly rendered. The original impetus of this group was Mendoza’s, based on the lov…
Resilient Vessels Live At The Cell
New York city based bassist and visual artist Josh Werner was awarded an artist in residence from The Cell Gallery located in New York NY. As a part of this residency which occurred in the month of July 2020, Josh presented various works in different mediums from visual art to music. In lue of the 2020 pandemic Josh was unable to present music to a live audience and instead offered a pre-recorded live performance to be aired at a later date. Werner was able to put together an ensemble of some of…
The Fourth Way
Zorn’s latest book of music for piano trio is inspired by the writings and thought of the elusive, mystical figure Georges Gurdjieff. The music is expansive, ranging from heartfelt lyricism to textural madness and is brilliantly performed by a tight trio of musical masters—treasured members of Zorn’s innermost circle. Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith form a fiery, soulful unit capable of jumping from a whisper to a scream at the drop of a hat. Following up on their acclaimed debut “S…
Sun Of Goldfinger
Debut album of the trio Sun of Goldfinger: David Torn (electric guitar, live looping, electronics), Tim Berne (alto saxophone) and Ches Smith (drums, electronics, tanbou), with Craig Taborn and strings on one track, recorded 2015 and 2018 in New York studios.
The Bell
Trio album led by drummer and percussionist Ches Smith with pianist Craig Taborn and violist Mat Maneri, eight Smith compositions for improvisers. Recorded June 2015 at Avatar Studios, New York; produced by Manfred Eicher.
