PDX Jazz presents: Steve Smith and Vital Information (Late Show)

Name: PDX Jazz presents: Steve Smith and Vital Information (Late Show)
Start: 2025-04-13T22:00:00-07:00
Location: Jack London Revue

Schedule

Sun, 13 Apr, 2025 at 10:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Jack London Revue | Portland, OR

PDX Jazz Member Presale: 1/21 @10AM PST
General On Sale: 1/24 @10AM PST
Featuring Steve Smith (drums), Manuel Valera (keyboards), and Janek Gwizdala (electric bass)
Drummer Steve Smith has been touring and recording with his group, Vital Information, since 1983. In 2023, Steve Smith celebrated the 40th anniversary of Vital Information by releasing a newly recorded double CD entitled Time Flies.
In 2025, the group is set to release their latest studio recording, New Perspective. The album features songs that Steve Smith has previously recorded, but with vastly different arrangements from the original versions. Included on New Perspective are three Journey songs: “Who’s Crying Now,” “Open Arms,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The album also includes a Steps Ahead tune written by Michael Brecker called “Sumo,” and reworked versions of three Vital Information classics: “The Perfect Date,” “Charukeshi Express,” and “Eight+Five.” Additionally, the album features two new original compositions. New Perspective is set for release in Spring 2025.
The newest lineup of Vital Information features two virtuoso musicians with wide-ranging experience. Keyboardist Manuel Valera is a Guggenheim Fellow and Grammy-nominated artist, born and raised in Havana, Cuba, now living in NYC. He plays and records with many of the New York jazz elite, including Antonio Sanchez, Dafnis Prieto, and John Patitucci. Electric bassist Janek Gwizdala, originally from London and currently living in Los Angeles, records and tours with Peter Erskine, Mike Stern, and Randy Brecker. He is regarded as one of today’s most in-demand bass players. Both new members of Vital Information are accomplished bandleaders and recording artists with multiple albums to their names.
The new trio version of Steve Smith and Vital Information collectively creates a powerhouse sound. While the band is rooted in the straight-ahead swing of bebop, they also explore exotic time-signatures inspired by South Indian Carnatic music and present adventurous funk-driven renditions of jazz standards. Seeing Steve Smith and Vital Information live in concert offers a unique opportunity to experience their high-level musicianship, joy on stage, and collective virtuosic improvisation.
Steve Smith shares his perspective on the band's philosophy:
"Our music allows for individual expression and re-invention. We thrive on swing, groove, and creativity. We want to surprise each other every night on the bandstand with new ideas and, in the process, keep our audience ‘in the moment’ with us."
In 2022, Wounded Bird Records released Steve Smith and Vital Information: The Complete Columbia Recordings, a four-CD set that combines the first four Vital Information albums into one package. Steve Smith, the former drummer for the iconic rock band Journey, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and has won numerous Modern Drummer Readers Polls, including being named one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time. On September 20, 2023, Steve Smith was inducted into the Zildjian Cymbal Hall of Fame as part of the Zildjian 400th Anniversary celebration.