Review: Josh Smith 'Bird of Passage'

Josh Smith

By Mike O’Cull

Ace player Josh Smith lives the big-band-with-electric-guitar dream on his new release Bird of Passage. Out April 8th, 2022 on Flat V Music and features the extra-talented Smith working out with a horn-loaded big band of tremendous musicians who put his renowned guitar skills in a smooth and sophisticated context.

It’s Smith’s first big band record and a clear labor of love and joy. Produced by Josh Smith and bassist Calvin Turner, the record brings fans the Josh Smith they know and love in an amazing new setting. Smith, to his credit, doesn’t put on a character here, changing his style to fit the charts and switching to a hollow body Gretsch, but uses his regular tone and Telecaster with supreme self-confidence. This makes Bird of Passage a unique and wonderful album that stands out without trying to and a listening experience worth diving into for roots music lovers everywhere.

Smith tracked the record in Los Angeles at Flat V Studios and in Nashville at Sound Emporium Studios way back in 2019. Smith has been wanting to do this kind of album for a long time but the moment had never been proper before. “I always have a running list of dream projects,” he says, “This was something Calvin Turner and I had been talking about for years. He’d prod me, I’d think about it, he’d mention it again, and maybe I’d write something. Finally, the time was right!” He did it right, too, recording with a muscular crew made up of himself, Calvin Turner on bass, Lemar Carter on drums, Larry Goldings on organ, and his cousin Alex Frank on double bass on one song. Add in the best brass players Nashville has to offer and you’ve got an explosion waiting to happen.

Smith opens Bird of Passage with a Calvin Turner original called “Doublecross” that shuffles hard and sets the vibe for the whole record. He easily slips, bobs, and weaves his guitar lines through Turner’s slick arrangement that uses the smoothness of the horns to offset Smith’s semi-dirty blues tone. It’s a solid, soulful number that will quickly change the energy in your listening room and get people up and moving.

“Brand New” is a delicious slow blues and the only vocal song on the album. Smith felt that a song like this was required, given the big band setting, and invokes the styles of both T-Bone Walker and Frank Sinatra. Josh walks the line between blues and jazz perfectly on it, delivering meaningful vocals and intricate guitar ideas with the ease of a master. His phrasing is especially sweet on this one, never giving in to the temptation to overplay and remaining mindful of what kind of session he’s doing. The track is a tip of the hat to the old days in the best way possible and will light you up inside.

The swanky instrumental “Hopeless Quarters” is a funky, Grant Green-ish cut that also leans on the memory of many classic TV theme songs. Smith’s tone is big, clean, and full and he uses it to show off some of the most jazz-informed playing he’s ever put out. Lemar Carter gets hip and wise behind his drums and Larry Gouldings plays the organ with much color and grace. The whole ensemble moves as a unit throughout the tune in an entertaining show of groove and precision. Don’t miss it.

“Rare Plus” is a 70s sort of funk tune rendered in the big band mode. The pocket is fully alive, the soloing is on point, and all the horns give it the wings it needs to soar. Lemar Carter looms large on the drums once again and drives this day-maker from start to finish. There are only seven tracks on Bird of Passage, which makes every one of them a highlight. Josh Smith has crafted himself a winner with it, though, one that gives us all a glimpse of how deep his artistry goes. If you’re looking for something fresh to put into daily rotation, enjoy your new favorite record.

Listen to “Bird of Passage”