Name: Steve Smith and Vital information
Start: 2025-04-12T19:00:00-07:00
Location: Myron's at The Smith Center

Steve Smith (drums)
Manuel Valera (keyboards)
Janek Gwizdala (electric bass)
Drummer Steve Smith has been touring and recording with his group Vital Information since 1983. Celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2023, Steve Smith and Vital Information look to the past for some new inspiration, reinventing gems from their previous album. Performing songs by Journey, Steps Ahead, and earlier versions of their albums, the trio turns old favorites into contemporary classics. Although the band is rooted in the straight-ahead swing of bebop, at times the group explores exotic time-signatures from the world of South Indian Carnatic music and have arranged adventurous funk-driven renditions of jazz standards. Seeing Steve Smith and Vital Information live in concert is a perfect opportunity to experience their high-level musicianship, sense of joy onstage and collective virtuosic improvisation.
The newest line-up 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. Manuel plays and records with many of the New York jazz elite like Antonio Sanchez, Dafnis Prieto and John Patitucci.
Electric bassist Janek Gwizdala, originally from London, currently living in Los Angeles, records and tours with Peter Erskine, Mike Stern and Randy Brecker and is one of today’s most in-demand bass players. Both new members of Vital Information are bandleaders, in their own right, and recording artists with multiple recordings to their names.
The new trio version of Steve Smith & Vital Information collectively creates a powerhouse sound. Although the band is rooted in the straight-ahead swing of bebop, at times the group explores exotic time-signatures from the world of South Indian Carnatic music and have arranged adventurous funk-driven renditions of jazz standards. Seeing Steve Smith & Vital Information live in concert is a perfect opportunity to experience their high-level musicianship, sense of joy onstage and collective virtuosic improvisation.