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Steve Smith & Vital Information West Coast Tour Continues

Steve Smith & Vital Information
West Coast Tour Continues

Steve Smith – drums & konnakol
Manuel Valera – acoustic piano,
Fender Rhodes and synths
Janek Gwizdala – electric bass

In Support Of Their New Album
New Perspective

Tour Dates and Locations:

Monday, April 7, 2025
Steve Smith & Vital Information
Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)
Master Class 4:30pm (click here for tickets)
Concert 7:00pm (click here for tickets)
4725 E. Mayo Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85050
480-478-6000
www.mim.org

Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Steve Smith & Vital Information
Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse
2415 W. 700 S.
Pleasant Grove, UT 84062
801-763-0200
www.ccsoundhouse.com

Thursday, April 10, 2025
Steve Smith & Vital Information
The Outpost
210 Yale Blvd. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-268-0044
Click here for tickets!

Friday, April 11, 2025
Steve Smith & Vital Information
Yoshi’s Jazz Club
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA 94607
510-238-9200
www.yoshis.com

Saturday, April 12, 2025
Steve Smith & Vital Information
Myron’s at The Smith Center
361 Symphony Park Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89106
702-749-2000
Click here for tickets!

Sunday, April 13, 2024
Steve Smith & Vital Information
PDX Jazz
133 SW Second Ave. Ste. 420
Portland, OR 97204
503-715-0600
Click here for early show tickets!
Click here for late show tickets!

Steve Smith & Vital Information
2025 Tour Promo

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.
 
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