Wayne Smith Jr

Wayne Smith Jr. is a drummer and composer who came up in the Philadelphia jazz scene and became a longtime member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, touring Europe, Canada, and Australia in its ranks. He studied at Philadelphia's Creative and Performing Arts High School and at the Berklee College of Music in Boston before building a career across the New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. circuits. Along the way he worked with musicians including Donald Byrd, Orrin Evans, Duane Eubanks, John Ellis, Stacy Dillard, and Bootsie Barnes. In 2023 he released Be Still, an album of ambient, contemplative writing performed by his quintet with trombonist Brent White, alto saxophonist Matthew Clayton, guitarist Ian Macaulay, and bassist Madison Rast. Based in New York, he leads the Wayne Smith Quintet and remains a fixture of the city's club scene at rooms like Smalls and Zinc Bar.