Marvin "Bugalu" Smith
Marvin "Bugalu" Smith | |
---|---|
Born | 1948 (age 75–76) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | Avant-garde jazz, free jazz, experimental |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion |
Marvin "Bugalu" Smith (born 1948) is an American jazz percussionist[1] best known for his work with the Sun Ra and The Sun Ra Arkestra.[1]
Life
Smith was born in Englewood, New Jersey.[1] The son of a carpenter, Smith had three other siblings.[2] He began learning to play drums at age 2[3] and studied with Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, and Art Taylor.[3] He also learned from his older brother, Earl "Buster" Smith, who himself went on to play with Eric Dolphy.[1]
Smith toured Italy with saxophonist Tyree Grimm Jr.[2] eventually staying there for twenty years during which he also played with Rocky Roberts.[2] While living in Italy, Smith became a Buddhist and its practices informed his drumming.[2]
Smith played with Archie Shepp[4] from 1982-1987 and then joined Sun Ra's Arkestra in 1987.[2]
Having taken some well deserved time off in the 90's, Smith moved to the Hudson Valley in NY State and began accepting students. A demanding yet compassionate teacher, Bugalu went on to teach many drummers, influencing countless others. Smith was also the host of one of the longest running Tuesday night jazz jam sessions in all of NY, at the Terrace Lounge in Newburgh. Musicians from NYC and surrounding states would make this session legendary with Smith recording and posting every session on either YouTube or Vimeo. Every session would feature Bugalu and his hand picked musical guests playing the first set, then Bugalu would let his core group of students, referred to as "Bugalu's Drum Crew" (Andrew, Kesai, Jan, Douglas & Fitz) play the second set. This continued until 2012, when after returning from an Italian tour, Smith then focused on his studio and session work. He toured Italy again in 2015. Since 2017, Smith has been living in New York City and playing sessions and gigs all around NY and the tristate area.
References
- ^ a b c d Aaron, Peter (July 1, 2013). "Marvin "Bugalu" Smith - The Beat Goes On". Chronogram Media. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Petride, Ron (February 2011). "What Do You Know About? - Marvin "Bugalu" Smith" (PDF). Modern Drummer. 35 (2): 90–91. ISSN 0194-4533. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ a b "Marvin Bugalu Smith". All About Jazz. March 4, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Cohan, Brad (March 2, 2020). "Dave Sewelson: More Music for a Free World (Mahakala)". JazzTimes. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
External links
- Marvin Bugalu Smith on Twitter
- v
- t
- e
Members
- John Gilmore
- Julian Priester
- Pat Patrick
- Charles Davis
- Victor Sproles
- Marshall Allen
- Ronnie Boykins
- James Spaulding
- Phil Cohran
- Clifford Jarvis
- Lex Humphries
- Michael Ray
- June Tyson
- Ahmed Abdullah
- Danny Ray Thompson
period
studio
albums
period
studio
albums
- The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra
- Bad and Beautiful
- Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
- Secrets of the Sun
- When Sun Comes Out
- Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
- When Angels Speak of Love
- Other Planes of There
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One
- The Magic City
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume Two
- Strange Strings
- Monorails and Satellites
- Atlantis
period
studio
albums
- Space Is the Place (soundtrack)
- Space Is The Place
- Pathways to Unknown Worlds
- Cosmos
- Deep Purple
- Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue
- New Steps
- Other Voices, Other Blues
- Visions
- Lanquidity
- Sleeping Beauty
- Strange Celestial Road
- Reflections in Blue
- Hours After
- Blue Delight
- Somewhere Else
- Purple Night
- Mayan Temples
albums
- Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold
- Nothing Is
- Nuits de la Fondation Maeght
- It's After the End of the World
- Black Myth/Out in Space
- Live in Egypt 1
- Nidhamu
- Horizon
- Live In Montreux
- Unity
- Live from Soundscape
- I, Pharaoh
- Sunrise in Different Dimensions
- Cosmo Omnibus Imagiable Illusion
- Thunder of the Gods