Chad Smith: Jazz That Never Fades
Imagine one hundred years ago in America when tunes performed by Rudy Vallee, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Gene Krupa, and Bix Biederbecke, to name a few, could be heard on mainstream free radio stations, in vaudeville shows and during silent pictures in theaters. Serendipitously, saxophonist, composer and bandleader Chad Smith became enamored of the jazz music of the 1920's, and one hundred years later, he shows that the music of the Golden Age of Jazz remains relevant to modern audiences. Smith's 2026 recording Saxophobia presents a new spin on the compositions of saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft,, S whose recordings through the Roaring '20s are noted for popularizing the saxophone. The inspiration for the album's title is Wiedoeft's track "Saxophobia." Smith admits, "The title of the album was difficult to choose. I didn’t want it to be historical or boring in any way. 'Saxophobia' is one of the trademark pieces that Wiedoeft wrote and perfo...
