" Living with the double bass and the electric bass over the years has been a challenging and rewarding experience both personally through
the people that I have met, and musically, through the repetoire of different genres, styles and songs that I have discovered and performed."
Received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Performance in the Double-Bass from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) under
the direction of Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist Frederick D. Tinsley in 1983. Attended California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1984 on a
Masters Program scholarship to continue studying with Tinsley and perform with the CalArts symphony and chamber orchestras.
Also studied privately on double bass with Harold Siegel, Steve Rodby, Richard Davis and Laura Snyder, and on electric bass and jazz
improvisation with noted session bassist, clinician and author Carol Kaye.
,Smith has performed with numerous jazz artists including the late jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby, sax men Eddie Harris and Teddy Edwards and
Buddy Collette, pianist Art Hillery, trombonist Jimmie Cheatham, veteran drummers Sherman Ferguson and Clayton Cameron and many others.
Smith, along with New York bassist Bill Lee , co-founded the Los Angeles Bass Violin Choir, a group of prominent L.A. area double-bassists
performing special arrangements by him and Lee. Bill Lee, father of director Spike Lee, and founder of the New York Bass Violin Choir. That
group consisted of Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Lisle Atkinson and Milt Hinton. The L.A. group consisted of the late Andy Simpkins, George
“Red” Callendar, John Heard, Bertram Turetsky and Herbie Lewis, along with Smith. Additional players to perform with the group were James
Leary, Alan Jackson and Roberto Miranda. Cecil Lytle , pianist and drummer Sherman Ferguson also performed with bass ensemble.
Most recently, performing World Music with " RumbaMenco " in addition to freelancing and recording with many spanish-afro cuban groups in
the Southern California area and performs nightly with many international artists and as " house bassist " at the Caspian and Four Season's
Restaurant in Irvine, California.
Herbert D. Smith- Bass