Kyle A Smith - Bassist
Kyle Smith was born in Sumter, SC and raised in Denver Colorado. Kyle decided to play bass at age 12 after visiting his older cousin in Queens New York. "My cousin Carter was playing bass and I was amazed at the vibe he was laying down". Influenced by the sounds of Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson and Verdine White in his early years, Kyle learned what it meant to lay down the groove early in life. "You had to play the groove then that was the job of the bass player. My brother Shawn was playing guitar and we started a garage band consisting of neighborhood friends. We would play at school functions, talent shows and local clubs. That is where it all started. I was introduced to Jaco and things started changing. The bass took on a whole new sound once Jaco came on the scene. Jaco would groove and add these melodic Coltrane type lines in at the same time. I started listening to a lot of jazz fusion then. My cousin Mike from Cleveland hipped me to Stanley Clarke and that took me to a different level. Stanley and Jaco were doing all these chordal things on the bass that was different from what everyone else was doing. Soon after high school Kyle had to begin to think about working and attending college. I had to put music aside for awhile and concentrate on school. After obtaining a degree in computer programming he decided to pick up the bass again. Playing bass in church for several years and obtaining more knowledge about his instrument. Then Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten stepped out. These dudes have greatly influenced my playing style. A friend of mine told me I should listen to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and my thought was I really don't listen to bluegrass music. We went to a concert and I just stood there with my mouth open in shock. If you ever heard Victor play you know what I am talking about. It took me some time to figure out how he was pumping out those triplets. The next time Victor was in town we were able to hang out and he showed us the open-hammer-pluck technique.