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DROPS TODAY "Don't Stop Believin'" FIRST VIDEO + STREAMING AUDIO FROM Steve Smith & Vital Information NEW PERSPECTIVE Friday is the release of the video and audio for "Don't Stop Believin'" from the Steve Smith & Vital Information album NEW PERSPECTIVE set for a February 7, 2025 release. The NEW PERSPECTIVE album will be released on CD, Vinyl LP, stereo streaming and Dolby ATMOS streaming. Steve Smith & Vital Information: “Don’t Stop Believin’” The music for NEW PERSPECTIVE developed while touring the USA promoting our 40thAnniversary album TIME FLIES. Our keyboardist Manuel Valera and bassist Janek Gwizdala asked me if I was interested in playing any jazz interpretations of Journey songs. That question has been coming up for the past 40 years and my answer has always been “No.” Ignoring my "No, " Manuel decided to come up with a radical treatment of “Don’t Stop Believin.’” We tried it at a soundcheck, played it that night and it got a positive response, which shifted my perspective. On June 29, 2023, near the end of our east coast tour, we stopped at Studio Mozart in Little Falls, NJ to record “Don’t Stop Believin, ’” “Open Arms, ” plus new versions of Vital Information classics “The Perfect Date” and “Charukeshi Express.” A theme for our next album was born: Record songs that I had previously played on during my career but with new arrangements that are quite different from the original versions, bringing a NEW PERSPECTIVE to the music. -Steve Smith Steve Smith – drums & konnakol Manuel Valera – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes and synths Janek Gwizdala – electric bass You could argue that a new perspective isn’t the same thing as a new direction and that Smith, who always seemed to be holidaying from jazz in the prog band-cum-saga that was Journey, is doing no more here than revisiting his own repertory. This new incarnation of Vital Information was apparently sparked when Smith heard keyboardist Manuel Valera’s jazz-fusion interpretation of “Don’t Stop Believin’”: Yes, the largest-selling song ever on iTunes turns out to have been an undercover jazz tune all the time. Valera’s arrangement of Michael Brecker’s “Sumo, ” which Steve had played with Steps Ahead, confirms that this isn’t a nostalgia band just running through old favourites, but a fresh creative twist on what always threaten to become fusion clichés. The real jaw-dropper, though, is what Janek Gwizdala has done with — or to — “Who’s Crying Now.” Some fans will consider this version equivalent to putting Joker make-up on Thomas Jefferson’s Mount Rushmore visage, but as reinvented rock classics goes, this one is simply too astonishing to offend even strict constructionists. “Josef The Alchemist” is a nod to the great Zawinul, and Vital Information can place themselves very proudly in the line of Joe’s most famous band. Smith himself plays with tight authority and innate musicality and this one is definitely not just for completists. —Brian Morton Artist: STEVE SMITH AND VITAL INFORMATION Title: NEW PERSPECTIVE Artist Website: www.vitalinformation.com Single release on Friday, January 17, 2025: DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' Streaming and CD/LP release on Friday, February 7, 2025. Label: Drum Legacy Records Catalog Number: DLR 005 UPC Code: 843563 181201 Will Be Available From All Major Streaming Platforms TRACK LISTING 1. Don’t Stop Believin’ (6:50) (Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon) arr. by Manuel Valera / Lacey Boulevard Music & Hipgnosis Side B o/b/o Weed High Nightmare Music 2. The Perfect Date (5:55) (Tom Coster) arr. by Manuel Valera / Kim-Tom Music BMI 3. Charukeshi Express (4:59) (George Brooks, Steve Smith) / Earth Brother Music BMI, Vital Information Publishing ASCAP 4. Open Arms (5:54) (Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain) arr. by Manuel Valera Lacey Boulevard Music & Hipgnosis Side B o/b/o Weed High Nightmare Music 5. Sumo (5:22) (Michael Brecker) arranged by Manuel Valera Grand Street Music BMI 6. Eight + Five (6:08) (Steve Smith, Vinny Valentino, Baron Browne) arr. by Robert “Sput” Searight / Vital Information Publishing ASCAP, All My Voices Music BMI, Bronze One Music BMI 7. Who’s Crying Now (6:13) (Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain) arr. by Janek Gwizdala Lacey Boulevard Music & Hipgnosis Side B o/b/o Weed High Nightmare Music 8. Three Of A Kind (4:25) (Manuel Valera) / VALERAMUSIC ASCAP 9. Josef The Alchemist (3:50) (Manuel Valera) / VALERAMUSIC ASCAP (Bonus track on the CD) MUSICIANS: Steve Smith - drums & konnakol, Manuel Valera - acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes and synths, Janek Gwizdala - electric bass Recorded and Mixed by Kostadin Kamcev at Mozart Studio LLC, Little Falls NJ. Recorded June 29, 2023, April 10 & 11, 2024. Mixed April 12 & 13, 2024. Mastered by Jim Brick at Absolute Audio–Colts Neck, NJ. Mastered for vinyl by Chris Muth at Taloowa Corp. Ossining, NY. Graphic Design by John McCloy. Band Photos by Desmond White, Studio photos by Kostadin Kamcev, Live photos by Jason Thiele at Sweetwater Sound. Cover art “Internal Conception-Internal Perception Revealed” by Steve Smith and SceneFour. Steve Smith, who originally became well-known as the drummer with Journey, grew up playing jazz. He has led one of the world’s top fusion-oriented groups, Vital Information, for over 40 years; they recorded their first album in 1983. Today’s version features the powerful drummer in a trio with keyboardist Manuel Valera and electric bassist Janek Gwizdala. Smith rarely looks backwards but he was so inspired by Valera’s transformation of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’“ into an up-tempo jazz-rock piece, that he decided to record new versions of several songs from his illustrious past. New Perspective consists of revivals of three songs apiece from Journey and earlier versions of Vital Information plus a Michael Brecker composition that the drummer had played with Steps Ahead. But these new recordings are greatly changed from the originals. The Journey numbers are an infectious rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin, ’” “Open Arms” (which Valera has turned into a swinging 3/4 ballad), and Gwizdala’s transformation of “Who’s Cryin’ Now” into a sophisticated jazz exploration. The Vital Information numbers are “The Perfect Date, ” an electronic “Charukeshi Express, ” and ”Eight + Five” which was originally recorded by a quintet. Brecker’s “Sumo” is fusion that swings in its own colorful way with inspired solos from both Gwizdala and Valera. New Perspective concludes with a pair of Valera originals: the straight-ahead “Three Of A Kind” and a tribute to the late keyboardist and Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul called “Josef The Alchemist.” Steve Smith began playing drums when he was nine, growing up in the Boston area. After high school he attended Berklee, spent two years playing with the Lin Biviano Big Band, studied with Alan Dawson, and worked with Jean-Luc Ponty during 1976–77, playing on Ponty’s landmark album Enigmatic Ocean. His seven years as the drummer with Journey (1978–85), which was followed by two later stints, made him world famous. In addition to leading several versions of Vital Information during the past 41 years (Time Flies was their 40th anniversary recording), he has been part of several Buddy Rich tribute bands, worked with Steps Ahead, and played with such adventurous jazz musicians as Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Liebman, Ahmad Jamal, Larry Coryell and Hiromi among many others. New Perspective gives Steve Smith an opportunity to not just revisit some past triumphs but to create brilliant new music. Fans of the influential drummer will be pleased. Upcoming Live Appearances Steve Smith & Vital Information Steve Smith (drums) Manuel Valera (keyboards) Janek Gwizdala Thursday, April 3-Saturday, April 5, 2025 The Baked Potato (two shows per night) 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 91604-3504 818-980-1615 www.thebakedpotato.com Sunday, April 6, 2025 HITKOR LIVE STREAM https://www.hitkor.com Monday, April 7, 2025 Musical Instrument Museum – MIM Steve Smith Masterclass 4:30pm Vital Information Concert 7:00pm https://mim.org/events/steve-smith-and-vital-information-04-07-2025/ 4725 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85050 480-478-6000 www.mim.org Wednesday, April 9, 2025 Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse 2415 W. 700 S. Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 801-763-0200 https://www.ccsoundhouse.com Thursday, April 10, 2025 The Outpost 210 Yale Blvd. SE (2 blocks south of Central) Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-268-0044 https://outpostspace.org Friday, April 11, 2025 Yoshi’s Jazz Club 510 Embarcadero West Jack London Square Oakland, CA 94607 510-238-9200 https://yoshis.com/events/buy-tickets/steve-smith-and-vital-information-1/detail Saturday, April 12, 2025 The Smith Center – Myron’s 361 Symphony Park Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89106 702-749-2000 https://thesmithcenter.com/tickets/2425/steve-smith-and-vital-information/ Sunday, April 13, 2024 PDX Jazz 133 SW Second Ave. Ste. 420 Portland, OR 97204 503-715-0600 https://www.pdxjazz.org Saturday, May 10, 2025 Steve Smith & Vital Information Steve Smith (drums) Manuel Valera (keyboards) Janek Gwizdala Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club 47 Frith Street Soho London, England W1D 4HT +44-207-439-0747 option 1 https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk Thursday, June 19, 2025 Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club 135 Congress Street Portsmouth, NH 03801 888-603-5299 https://jimmysoncongress.com Friday, June 20-Sunday, June 22, 2025 Steve Smith & Vital Information Steve Smith (drums) Manuel Valera (keyboards) Janek Gwizdala Birdland Theater (downstairs-two shows per night) 315 W. 44th Street New York, NY 10036 212-581-3080 www.birdlandjazz.com Thursday, June 26 Thursday, April 3, 2025 39th Annual Syracuse International Jazz Festival Festival Mainstage Clinton Square Park Downtown Syracuse 161 W. Genesee St. Syracuse, New York 13202 Free Admission, Non-Ticketed www.syracusejazzfest.com Friday, June 27, 2025 The Ritz (More details TBA) Scranton, PA https://www.barpazzo.com |
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