Vital Information is
back! Celebrationg the band's 40th Anniversary,
the band has released it's new CD "Time Flies"
with a companion CD "A Prayer For The
Generations." Released as a two CD set signed
by Steve Smith, you can order it here!
Also available (see the left column): streaming
links and DOLBY ATMOS versions!
Featuring:
Steve
Smith – drums Manuel Valera
- keyboards Janek Gwizdala
– bass Special Guests
George Garzone - tenor
sax Mike Mainieri -
vibraphone
Disc 1 Time Flies
Disc 2 A
Prayer For The Generations
1. Emergence
1. One Down, One
Up
2. Tempus Fugue-It
2. A Prayer For
The Generations Part 1
3. Time Flies
3. A Prayer For
The Generations Part 2
4. Darn That Dream
4.
A Prayer For The Generations Part 3
5. Un Poco Loco
5.
A Prayer For The Generations Part 4
6. Self Portrait
6.
A Prayer For The Generations Part 5
7. Inception
7.
A Prayer For The Generations Part 6
8. Choreography in Six
8.
A Prayer For The Generations Part 7
9. No Qualm
9. A Prayer For
The Generations Part 8
10. Ugly Beauty
11. What Is This Thing Called Love?
12. Erdnase
Four CD Set! Can be signed and
personalized by Steve (choose during
checkout) $20 (plus S&H)
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: The Complete Columbia
Recordings
Wounded Bird Records has released the first
four Vital Information albums in a four CD set.
The music was originally recorded for Columbia
Records from 1983-1988. The albums have been
newly mastered from original Ľ” masters. Steve
Smith explains, “I searched my storage unit and
found unmastered, Ľ” safety copies of all four
albums. My mastering engineer, Jim Brick of
Absolute Audio, had the tapes baked and
transferred onto digital. Jim did such an
amazing job with the new mastering of the albums
that they sound far better than the original
releases.”
The first album, called Vital
Information, was recorded in January of 1983,
shortly after Steve had finished recording the
Journey album Frontiers. As the long-time
drummer of the group Journey, Columbia Records
signed Smith as a solo artist. Smith went to
work recording a group of musicians he had been
playing with since the early 70s at the Berklee
College of Music, which became the first
incarnation of Vital Information. The first
album features Mike Stern and Dean Brown on
guitars, Tim Landers on bass, David Wilczewski
on sax with Steve Smith on drums. As Vital
Information developed through extensive live
touring and studio savvy, the next three albums,
Orion, Global Beat, and Fiafiaga (Celebration),
feature a plethora of virtuosic and talented
players including Andy Narell on steel pans, Ray
Gomez, Barry Finnerty and Frank Gambale on
guitars, Tom Coster, Kit Walker and Jay Oliver
on keyboards, Lenny Castro, Mike Fisher and
Armando Peraza on percussion and Kai Eckhardt on
bass. In the process of searching for master
tapes, Smith found two, unreleased, bonus tracks
from Global Beat: “Jave and a Nail Revisited,” a
drumset and percussion improvisation with Smith
and percussionist Mike Fisher, and “Forget Me
Not,” a medium tempo melodic piece featuring
solos by guitarist Mike Stern and pianist Tom
Coster. Both tracks are included in the new
Wounded Bird collection.
Disc 1 Vital
Information
Disc 2 Orion
1. Looks Bad Feels Good
1. Future
Primitive
2. Questionable Arrivals
2. Thank You Mr.
Edison
3. V.G.
3. The Strut
4. Vital Information
4. Orion
5. All That Is
5. Blade
6. Stoughton to Stockholm Samba
6. The
Adventures of Hector and Jose
7. 13th Month
7. Shadows Past
8. Blues to
Bappe II
Disc 3 Global Beat
Disc 4 Fiafiaga (Celebration)
1. One Flight Up
1. Please Don't
Fee Bad
2. Island Holiday
2. The Chant
3. Johnny Cat
3. Maltese
Connection
4. Novato
4. Celebration
(Fiafiaga)
5. Sunset
5. Babaluwaiye
(The Creator)
6. Jave and a Nail
6. Sunday
Afternoon
7. Jave and a Nail Revisited
7. The Perfect
Date
8. Global Beat
8. Whenever
You're Ready
9. Black Eyebrows
9. 50/50
10. In a Low Voice
11. Traditions in Transition
12. Blues to Bappe I
13. Forget Me Not
NEW!
CD Signed by Steve (not
personalized) $15 (plus S&H)
Click the logo to download from
iTunes!
Play along versions available! Click the
logo!
Steve
Smith and Vital Information NYC Edition Heart
of the City (CD)
Vital Information NYC Edition is back!
Steve Smith's band, whose lineage goes back more
than 30 years, has released it's burning new
album, "Heart of the City." It features 12 tunes
performed by six amazing musicians:
Baron Browne (bass and vocals),
Mark Soskin (piano and Rhodes),
Vinny Valentino (guitar), Andy
Fusco (alto sax), and George
Brooks (tenor and alto saxes).
All copies
are signed and will be shipped immediately! And
make sure to grab a copy of
Vitalization plus Jazz Legacy 1
and 2 - each for just $10 PLUS a 10%
discount when you purchase any two products in
the store!
1. Mr. P.C.
7. I Love You
2. Rhythm-A-Ning
8. I'm an
Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)
3. Eight+Five
9. City
Outskirts West
4. Bugalulu
10. Open
Dialogue
5. Heart of the City
11. Charukeshi
Express
6. City Outskirts East
12. Cherokee
(Indian Love Song)
CD Signed by Steve (not
personalized): $15.00 (plus
S&H)
Vinyl Signed by Steve (not
personalized): $22.00 (plus
S&H)
Play along versions available! Click the
logo!
Steve
Smith and Vital Information NYC Edition Viewpoint (CD or Vinyl!) 2015 Release
10 new tracks, including
three drum solo pieces, plus two LIVE bonus
tracks!
Viewpoint (BFM
Jazz) is the new release from
Steve Smith and Vital Information NYC Edition!
This band is
the culmination of three of Steve Smith’s touring
and recording bands known as Buddy’s Buddies,
Jazz Legacy and Vital Information. Viewpoint
features a combination of musical styles these
groups have performed as well as three members
from each of the bands.
The band features
Steve Smith, Baron Browne on bass, Andy Fusco on
alto saxophone, Mark Soskin on piano and Fender
Rhodes, Vinnie Valentino on guitar and special
guest Walt Weiskopf on tenor sax.
The CD
features 10 new tunes, including three drum solo
pieces and two bonus live tracks!
SPECIAL VINYL EDITION - INCLDUES
FREE DOWNLOAD!
Steve has a
limited number of vinyl copies available!
Experience this beautiful recording on
high-quality vinyl - and you still get a
download version for your electronic device
(including two bonus tracks!)
Get either the CD or the vinyl edition with
a free download using the buttons on the left.
or click the link below to downlaod the
audio portion only on iTunes
for $9.99.
LIVE! One Great Night 2012 Release CD + DVD Package (filmed
in B&W) DVD includes all
tracks plus a BONUS Track!
Live! One Great Night
(BFM Jazz)
captures Vital Information in its natural
habitat: On stage in front of an enthusiastic
audience of music lovers with the band in high
gear, pulling out all the stops for the entire
set.
This recording is a superb example
of the creative development in Vital
Information’s music. Most of the compositions on
Live! One Great Night were originally
recorded on the studio albums Come On In
and Vitalization. If you compare the
performances on this release to the original
recordings, you will hear significant musical
growth both individually and collectively.
Our music allows for individual expression
and re-invention. Every night on the bandstand
we want to surprise each other with new ideas
and in the process keep our audience “in the
moment” with us.
On November 7, 2007
Vital Information was nearing the end of a year
of extensive world touring. The band played a
date at a small venue in Oregon, and we agreed to a webcast,
which at the time was a novel idea. Five years
later, as Vital Information approaches its 30th
Anniversary, I was looking for some
documentation of our various periods and I
remembered that night in Oregon. After numerous
emails and phone calls I was able to track down
the recording of the concert. As a bonus we also
found video footage of our webcast.
After
listening to the performances I was thrilled to
hear that the group played an exciting set, not
studio “perfect,” but alive and spontaneous,
with creative grooves, inspired interaction and
expansive improvisation. I felt that including a
DVD of the concert added an extra dimension to
this package and while editing the video, we
decided to add one more song to the DVD program.
I feel that Live! One Great Night
is an insightful documentation of the group’s
development. Our keyboardist, Tom Coster, has
been in VI since 1986 and Baron Browne has been
our bass player since 1998. Guitarist Vinny
Valentino joined us in 2006 and had been playing
with the group just over one year at the time of
this recording.
The results of this collaboration are
raw and exhilarating. This line-up of Vital
Information has continued to play together and
evolve over the last fi ve years. But, by going
back and hearing this performance in the
formative year of the quartet, it feels as
though we’ve uncovered an unexpected gem.
Enjoy,
- Steve Smith
Track
Listing for the CD/DVD
1. Cat Walk
6. The Trouble
With
2. Time Tunnel
7. Interwoven
Rhythms-Dialogue
3. Interwoven Rhythms-Synchronous
8. The Closer
4. Seven and a Half
9. Jimmy Jive
5. Khanda West
10. Positano
(bonus track on the DVD)
Your Price: $15.00 (plus
S&H)
VITALIVE! 2009 Release Must-have special remastered version
with a bonus track and all-new liner notes!
Vital Information recorded live in 1989.
Frank Gambale, guitar; Larry Grenadier, bass;
Larry Schneider, sax; Tom Coster, keys, Steve
Smith, drums; guest Tom Coster, Jr., keys.
"Vitalive!" is
a documentation of a group that I had for a
short time in the late 1980s - this
configuration was the most "jazz" version of
Vital Information to date. Joining long-time
Vital Information members Tom Coster on
keyboards and Frank Gambale on guitar, were a
young 20 year-old Larry Grenadier on acoustic
bass and the seasoned jazz veteran Larry
Schneider on saxophone. With myself on drums the
band coalesced into a unique "jazz/rock" unit
with a sound that stands the test of time.
Originally released on VeraBra/Intuition Records
in Europe and Manhattan/Blue Note for the USA,
Vitalive! has been out of print since the mid
90s. This new version has been re-mastered with
a marked improvement in sound and includes an
added a bonus-track that I found in the vaults."ť
- Steve Smith, 2009
1. One Flight Up
7. Johnny Cat
2. Looks Bad,
Feels Good
8. The Perfect
Drive
3. Jave and a
Nail
9. Island
Holiday
4. What Lies
Beyond
10. Europa
5. I Should Care
11. Mac Attack
(alt. take) BONUS TRACK!
6. Mac Attack
Special Price! $10.00 (plus
S&H)
Play along versions available! Click the
logo!
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Vitalization 2007 Release
Click
here
to open the preview page with extended and
unedited liner notes.
1. Interwoven
Rhythms - Synchronous
7. J Ben Jazz
2. Get Serious
8. You Know What
I Mean
3. The Trouble
With
9. Groove Time
4. The Bottom
Line
10. The Closer
5. Seven and a
Half
11. Jimmy Jive
(for Jimmy Smith)
6. Interwoven
Rhythms - Dialogue
12. Positano
Your Price: $15.00 (plus
S&H)
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Come On In 2004 Release
With the
jazz fusion quartet's 11th album, Come On In,
Tom Coster, Frank Gambale, Baron Browne and
Steve Smith serve up a veritable banquet of
sounds, from slamming funk and syncopated second
line grooves to seriously swinging, uptempo B-3
burners, South Indian Carnatic inspired jams and
sizzling fuzoid romps.
Click
here
to open the preview page, with extended and
unedited liner notes!
Click on the
underlined titles to hear a sample of that song!
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Live From Mars 2001
Release
This is a band bootleg
usually available only at gigs. Frank Gambale,
Tom Coster, Baron Browne, and Steve Smith
recorded live during the 'Show 'Em Where You
Live' tour at Mars Music in Somerville, MA. on
November 18, 2000. The group burns through
material from 'Show 'Em...' and more.
1. Mr. T.C.
5. Drum Improv
2. Swamp Stomp
6. Happy House
3. Cranial Jam
7. Soul
Principle
4. Listen Up!
8. Over and Out!
Your Price: $15.00 (plus
S&H)
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Show 'Em Where
You Live 2001 Release
A
development on the direction established on
Where We Come From. This album is very high
energy, adventurous and “jazz-funk-fusion”
oriented. Frank Gambale, Tom Coster, Baron
Browne, and Steve Smith return with their unique
blend of jazz fusion performing mostly original
compositions, as well as their rendition of
Jimmy Heath's 'Gingerbread Boy' and more.
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Live Around The
World Where We Come From Tour 1998-1999 2000 Release
This is a double-CD featuring Frank
Gambale on guitar, Tom Coster on keys, Baron
Browne on bass, and Steve Smith on drums. It was
recorded live in Australia, Canada, Holland, and
the U.S. during 1998/99. Fifteen live tracks and
two new studio bonus tracks. Click
here
to read the liner notes!
1. Dr. Demento
9. It's a Jungle
Out There (studio bonus track)
2. Moby Dick
10. The Drum
Also Waltzes
3. Swamp Stomp
11. Take Eight
4. Cranial Jam
12. Listen Up!
5. Happy House
13. Europa
6. Fortaleza
14. Do You Read
Me?
7. First Thing
This Morning
15. Over and
Out!
8. The Perfect
Date
16. Mr. PC
17. Soulful
Drums (studio bonus track)
Your Price: $15.00 (plus
S&H)
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Where We Come
From
1998 Release
A transition
recording for Vital Information, the band
re-invented itself with a rootsy amalgam which
ran the stylistic gamut from James Brown funk to
Meters/Booker T & The MGs soul to searing Tony
Williams Lifetime-inspired fusion while making
further allusions to jazz icons like Buddy Rich,
Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery and Ornette Coleman
along the way. Where We Come From won
the Indie Award in 1998 for "Jazz Recording of
the Year." The eighth release from Vital
Information with Frank Gambale on guitar, Tom
Coster on Hammond B-3, Jeff Andrews on bass, and
Steve Smith on drums! Along with the groups
original tunes, they cover Led Zeppelin's 'Moby
Dick', Ornette Coleman's 'Happy House' and a
previously unrecorded Jaco Pastorius composition
'Blow Fish Blues.'
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Ray of Hope 1996 Release
Frank Gambale, guitar; Jeff Andrews, bass; Tom
Coster, keys; Steve Smith, drums. The recording
just before Vital Information made a transition
into being more of a “Soul-Jazz” oriented group.
Strong group compositions including Over and
Out, Ray Of Hope and Clouds. Jeff Andrews shines
on the Horace Silver tune Peace and his own
composition Fit To Be Tied. In general, this
recording is Vital Info’s “smoothest” sound.
1. Clouds
7. Ray of Hope
2. Celebrate
Life
8. Maxed Out
3. Rio-Lize
9. All My Love,
Always
4. Lorenzo's
Soul
10. Peace
5. Sacred
Treasure
11. Fit to be
Tied
6. Sixth Sense
12. Over and
Out!
Your Price: $15.00 (plus
S&H)
Steve
Smith & Vital Information: Orion 1984 Release
The second Vital Information album. Dean
Brown and Eef Albers play some stunning guitar
together on this fusion masterpiece. Dean Brown
and Eef Albers, guitar; Dave Wilczewski, sax;
Tim Landers, bass; and Steve Smith, drums.
1. Future
Primitive
5. Blade
2. Thank You Mr.
Edison
6. The
Adventures of Hector and Jose
3. The Strut
7. Shadows Past
4. Orion
8. Blues to
Bappe II
SOLD OUT! This title is
currently out of print.
Steve
Smith & Vital Information 1983 Release
Solo debut of Steve Smith and Vital
Information, recorded in 1983. Dean Brown and
Mike Stern on guitars; Dave Wilczewski on sax;
Tim Landers on bass; and Steve Smith on drums.