Glen Smith
Glen Smith was born into a home where music was always playing and everyone played an instrument. Glen took up the guitar when he was 12 years old and shortly thereafter was performing at parties and dances in a band with his Father. While Glen’s earliest musical influences were in Country and Country Swing music, with particular interest in the styling of Chet Atkins, he heard his first jazz recording at the age of 14 and never looked back.
With never a doubt about his musical calling, Glen went to college to study music theory and classical guitar before leaving to tour with a number of national touring acts. He landed in Los Angeles at a particularly fertile time in his artistic development. There Glen expanded his musical and artistic interests, getting involved with studio work, playing in theatre company pit orchestras, and playing experimental music for the Cal State LA Modern Dance department; all the while continuing his study of classical guitar and connecting with the jazz guitar great Joe Pass. Glen’s time in LA also saw his talents expand to the electric bass when a chance opportunity arose to fill the bass slot in a pit orchestra. Little did he know that this would become an inflection point for his music career. Glen returned to St. Louis when he got married and quickly broke into the local contracting scene. There he spent years as an A-List player, working shows for star performers at the Fox Theatre and other venues, industrial shows, local showcases, and clubs around the area. It was during this period that Glen devoted himself to the electric bass exclusively. Glen says musical flexibility is one of his strengths – he likes many styles of music and can fit easily into whatever a situation requires. This flexibility has enabled him to play for many talented performers, including Mel Torme, Jennifer Holliday, Larnell Harris, Take Six, Leslie Uggams, Maurice Hines, Frankie Laine, The Ink Spots, The Four Aces, Michael Buble, the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Pops and many others. Glen has spent years working with the finest musicians in St. Louis playing jazz, pop, rock, and country music. In particular, Glen has collaborated with the jazz piano great Carolbeth True for over 20 years and is excited about his new collaboration with the peerless guitarist, Eric Slaughter. |