An adept jazz drummer and educator, Neal Smith is known for his hard-swinging approach to acoustic post-bop. He emerged in the 2000s playing with Brian Lynch and Cyrus Chestnut before founding his own NAS label and releasing albums like 2005's Swingin' Is Believin'. A quintet album, Live at Smalls, arrived in 2010. He won the Grammy for Best Classical Compendium for his contributions to 2023's Passion for Bach and Coltrane by Jeff Scott. Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Neal Smith started on drums at age five. He excelled throughout his school years and by his teens was already an accomplished performer. After high school he studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Performance. He also studied privately, working with players like Vernell Fournier, Jeff Hamilton, and Gordon Gottlieb, among others. Since graduating, he has performed with Brian Lynch, Cyrus Chestnut, Tom Harrell, Anita Baker, and more. Along with leading his own groups, Smith has taught as a professor at Berklee College of Music, The New School, and Longy School of Music. He is also the founder of the NAS label, on which he made he made his debut as leader with 2005, releasing both Some of My Favorite Songs Are... and Swingin' is Believin'. In 2010, he released the concert album Live at Smalls, featuring his quintet with Eric Alexander, Steve Wilson, Mulgrew Miller, Mark Whitfield, and Dezron Douglas. In 2023, he contributed to Passion for Bach and Coltrane by Jeff Scott, which took home the Grammy for Best Classical Compendium. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi