Double bass, Improviser. Born Damon Jesse Smith on oct. 17th, 1972 in Spokane, WA. Did "freestyle bmx" bicycle riding from age 13 to 23. Started music in 1991, under the influence of Mike Watt (fIREHOSE & the minutemen) on fender bass. Lead several punk/art rock combos until 1994. Upon receiving Peter Kowald's landmark lp "Duos;Europa," Damon sold the fender bass and concentrated solely on double bass and free music. Damon's music is rooted in the tradition of "free jazz", with most of his professional experience coming from work with the orchestras and small ensembles of alto saxophonist marco eneidi, however, he is very interested in all the manifestations of free improvised music (jazz rooted or not!) around the world. His live and recorded efforts focus on continuing and expanding the possibilities of the double bass and "instant composition." His instrumental study focuses on classical technique and etudes, while using jazz as reference for pizzicato tone. Damon performs as a soloist and in every imaginable grouping all the way to large orchestra. He also collects recordings, specifically creative music, jazz and double bass music, and feels this is an important influence on his work ("my roots are in my record player"- evan parker).
Damon studied music theory/20th century harmony with his mother Bobbie Smith (a classically trained pianist/composer). He had initial double bass lessons with Bill Douglass, next with Lisle Ellis for one year, then classical studies with Kristin Zerneg and jazz with Michael Jones. He also had single lessons/attended workshops with; Barre Phillips, Stefano Scodanibbio, John Lindberg, Mark Dresser, Peter Kowald, William Parker, Ken Filiano, Mike Watt, David Holland, Joëlle Léandre, Bertram Turetzky and brass players Bobby Bradford, Butch Morris & Wadada Leo Smith and saxophonists Wolfgang Fuchs and John butcher. He continues semi-frequent studies with Prof. Turetzky.
Damon has Collaborated with dancers, actors and poets including Poet Jack Brewer, scoring actor William Whaley's adaptation of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Capricorn" for actor and double bass and the west coast premier of the final collaboration of Merce Cunningham and John Cage; "Ocean," Highly Influenced By modern visual arts, Damon studied painting for a short time with Tom Schultz (see cover of bpa 002) This has resulted in a notation system called "Color Architecture," dedicated to him.
Damon has performed with; Peter Brötzmann, Cecil Taylor, the "Deep Space Posse" (led by Tyrone Hill & Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arkestra), Peter Kowald, Glenn Spearman, Frank Gratkowski, Joëlle léandre, Jeb Bishop, John Tchicai, Andrew Voit, Douglas Ewart, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Eugene Chadbourne, Joe Biaza, Biggi Vinkeloe, Elliot Sharp, Wolfgang Fuchs , Luc Houtkamp, Peter Van Bergen, Mike Watt, Chris Cutler, William Hooker, Miya Masaoka, J.A. Deane, Sebi Tramantana, Gino Robair, Tony Bevan , Alan Silva, Boris Hauf, Tim Perkis, Jackson Krall, Eddie Gale, Gianni Gebbia, Fred Frith, Jaap Blonk, Jon Raskin, Phill Gelb, Marco Eneidi, Donald Robinson, Oluyemi Thomas, Prince Lasha, Henry Kaiser, John Butcher, Hugh Livingston and many others.
Festivals:
"Total Music Meeting" 2002 Berlin
ULRICHSBERGER KALEIDOPHON 2003 -Ulrichsburg, Austria
Earshot Jazz festival, seattle
"Making Waves" San Francisco
"Dreamin' California",in Palermo,Sicily
"Midsmumer Music:An Improvisers Forum" San Francisco
"The East Bay Creative Music Festival" Oakland
"The Glenn Spearmann Festival" Oakland
"The Peter Kowald Fesitval:A Future Retrospective" Oakland/San Francisco/Berkeley
"The Malcom X Jazz Arts Festival" Oakland
"The Big Sur ExperimentalMusic Festival" Big Sur
"The SFALT Festival" Oakland/San Francisco
"earshot jazz festival" seattle 2003
"garden of memory" 1999 and 2004
"bEASTFEST"
Discograghy:
+ Audiology II 11 groups in berlin 2002 total music meeting all/fmp
+ biggi vinkeloe/kjell nordeson/damon smith "elegans" CD 1017 nuscope
+ bpa 010 "cruxes" aurora josephson/joelle leandre/damon smith/martin blume
+ bpa 009 "sperrgut" birgit ulher/damon smith/martin blume
+ bpa 008 "the happymakers"
wolfgang fuchs/jacob lindsay/damon smith/serge baghdassarians/boris
baltschun
+ bpa 007 "zero plus" phillip wachsmann/martin blume/aurora josephson/jacob lindsay/damon smith
+ bpa 006 frank gratkowski/jerome bryerton/damon smith
+ bpa 005 "sense of hearing" carol genetti/damon smith + fred lonberg-holm
+ biggi vinkeloe/mark weaver/damon smith "desert sweets" bpa 004
+ wolfgang fuchs/damon smith/jerome bryerton "three october meetings" bpa 003
+ peter kowald/damon smith "mirrors-broken but no dust" bpa001
+ tony bevan/damon smith/scott r. looney "the sale of ticket for money was abolished" bpa002
+ aurora josephson/jacob lindsay/damon smith " the unstable qualities of three"
+ gianni gebbia/damon smith/ garth powell "people in motion" rastascan records
+ the damon smith trio "color archtecture" lImited sediton records
+ damon smith solo double bass "contradictory consequences"
+ radius- alan lechuza/mark weaver/dave wayne/damon smith "witch of agnesi"
+ carlo actis dato - live april 2001 - with wayne horvitz, reuben radding, + ken vandermark, damon smith, gino robair
+ marco eneidi's american jungle orch. w/w.leo smith,bertram turetzky, glenn spearmann ect. botticelli records
+ scott rosenberg "IE (for large ens.)" barely audible
+ gebbia/smith/powell +jaap blonk "live in palermo"
+ the emergency string quartet spring garden music
+"bass, boats and bevans beer" solo 3" cd artship recordings # 01
+ dave tucker west coast project
Video:
"Off The Road" French documentary on Peter Kowald 2000 U.S. tour
"CECIL TAYLOR ALL THE NOTES"
" Noisy People"
soundtrack for Wener Herzog's "Grizzly Man"
Forthcoming:
-bpa 011 "sextesence" john butcher/aaron bennett/henry kaiser/danielle degruttola/damon smith/jerome bryerton
- Marco Eneidi /Peter Kowald /Damon Smith/Spirit "ghetto calypso" nottwo records
- ariel shibolet/damon smith leo records