The Beautiful Compassionate Master Drummer Educator

Many events in this person's life are to be documented as time moves on but for today, this is the very first article to be presented in this educational series. Interviews, photos and many more articles will appear in this blog and also on Marbib Radio Television in the future. Today marks that day of continued change and continuous movement as Jazz Music needs to have documentation to go along with the living legends that are here now at the end of 2011 and the start of the New Year, 2012. The person that I'm reviewing and telling the story about, is one of the greatest musicians of all time, unique in all his ways and one of the most swinging drummers that I've ever heard play the drums and I grew up with all of them and sat along side of many of them including Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey and now this CAT that I'm telling you about! Once upon a time in Englewood New Jersey there lived a happy family named Smith. The daddy worked hard and built his own house for his family, wife, three sons and a daughter. The oldest son played drums, while the middle son worked as a salesman and the daughter went to college receiving a doctorate degree in theology. The baby boy of the family liked the sounds that came out of his older brother's drum set so he decided at the age of 2 to sit under the high hat while his brother waiied away, swinging and singin all the bop jazz tunes you could ever imagine. Practically everyday, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey or any of the drummers during that little boy's day, came over to the house to hang out with the older brother. So the story went. Music, music music and happiness all the time. The parents built a wonderful den(practice room) and the older brother noticed that the little boy had more talent than any of the well known master drummers that were coming over to the house. The little boy used to climb up on the drum throne but his feet couldn't reach the bass drum pedal. He started to figure out how things worked because the older brother's foot was so large and powerful but yet he feathered or lightly touched the pedal and drew out the most magical sounds down there. It was almost like you coudn't hear the bass drum but you could feel it driving the groove on each beat. The little boy decided that everything moves like the wind with a gentle but powerful presence. This interested the little guy so he started going to school at the age of 5 and everyone laughed at him. Things seemed backwards to him and the parents realized that the little boy had dyslexia. Kids in school always made fun of him and he reached a point of turning everything around by spending hours on end practicing and working hard every hour that he was home from school. His brothers and parents continued to try and motivate him to go out and play with the other little kids but, no, no, no, he was persistent in practicing those drums and by passing his older brother's playing and also by passing all the brother's drumming buddies. Years went by and the little guy was no longer a little guy even though he was thin and appeared fragile. What started coming out of the drums was a sound that nobody could duplicate. It was the sound of a genius and the sound of the wind and all the elements. The little guy started performing in venues where typically you had to be over 18 but it didn't matter because he would sneak in, sit in and blow the doors off of the bandstand to the point where all the master drummers were embarressed and self conscience refusing to appear after the little boy swung so hard on the drums. Yeah, it was amazing and ever since that happened, nothing much has changed. Now in 2011, many, many years since that time at Birdland, The Village Gate and so many other venues, the little guy still blows the doors off of every bandstand and venue but he has produced well over 1200 videos of his performances, more than any performing artist in the world, including all the other major jazz drummers in the world. combined. The story did go from Englewood, NJ to Europe and he played in Sun Ra's Arkestra, so did his older brother who also played with Eric Dolphy. He also played with Archie Shepp and practically everyone you might have heard of in the jazz world. He moved to Italy and practiced Buddhism. His spititually grew and he became enlightened. He discovered that the reason he was able to play the drums so fluently and naturally is that his chanting brought him closer to his Buddha Nature and he discovered that it was important to be understanding of others and project goodness. He helped everyone and the more people that he turned on to his spiritual reality and discovery, the stronger his drum communications became. He had this unique hollow but yet full, light but yet powerful sound that came out of the drums when he touched them. Folks started to notice his aura. Around him, especially when he was playing the drums, a light formed around him and it felt warm and glowed as if you could see the motion, the constant motion that was always present whenever he moved. Sometimes, you would be drawn into that presence that he represented but only if you pushed your own desires and your ego over to the side. He taught in Italy and he taught many. He became known as a drum sage. The drum was simply his tool for communicating compassion, the real truth about love. He evolved and evolved and yet everybody was jealous. The beautiful person lost mom, dad, both brothers and still has a sister living in NJ. He now is the head of his own music company which includes a 48 track state of the art recording studio, a music publishing company, a media broadcasting company a record label of his own,a production company, a music marketing company and the main event of his life, his music school where he does all his drum teaching and involves all master players of all instruments to come into his studio every week to be recorded on his master sessions, "better than hollywood" for the benefit of his students so that they can intereact on the bandstand and learn just the way he did as a little boy and the way things were done in traditional jazz years ago when the other masters were alive. Today there are fewer and fewer of the great masters around but he is available and yet you would think that serious drummers and other musicians would be breaking his door down to get in! Well little has changed and while such a great genius master drummer/educator is here on earth now, few are taking the moment to even reflect on the importance of "rubbing shoulders" with the living legend. Most simply want to go to college, read a bunch of books about the dead masters and go out and play gigs that they don't even understand the music and how to execute it because they haven't learned the traditional secrets that can only be taught through direct exposure. They spend too much time trying to become labeled as a "bad mo-th-r fu-ck-r" when the should become more concerned about learning how to lose their egos and become humble through their acts of compassion and doing something for others. A simply gesture of giving to others before giving to self will start to make a difference and make a player more soulful/spiritual and a more joyful person to be around. Yeah, a good "old fashioned kick in the ass" is what Elvin used to say, along with Blakey, Max and all the rest. Today, that individual that were talking about here is Dr. Marvin Smith. He has been written up in a two page spread , Modern Drummer Magazine, February, 2011 issue but what good is having the media recognize him if the young players don't respond because they all think they can out play him. The ones that do study with him stay with him because they are seeing results. The ones that have ego problems can't stay with him because he won't tolerate anyone who thinks they're a better person than someone else. To him, everyone has equal value and people either become the Buddha inside and achieve a balance in their life or they can't play because they're afraid of looking at and/or facing the bullshit and truth that exists in their own life! Dr. Marvin Smith is who we're talking about in this article and I've been a close friend of his for most of my life. This long term friendship has taught me much and I believe that others should do everything they can possibly do to spend time around him while he is alive. If it's learning more about music and studying some of the lessons of life that others have discovered, then Dr. Marvin Smith and the masters that he performs with every week in his studio, are available to you and you will be recorded and documented playing on a higher level. One thing is certain, if you are driven by players that are stronger than you, eventually it will rub off after they kick your ass enough. Yeah, old school, no substutute for it in the jazz world. LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

Series # 124 Master Sessions Of Dr. Marvin Smith Part 1 Koko Jones and Dr. Marvin Smith with Koko Jones Interview and drum performance

Series # 124 shows the magic as Koko Jones joins Dr. Marvin Smith and the rest is history going down. When these two get together, FIRE is HOT and the explosions of DRUM LOVE are apparent. Listen carefully to a great session and read my notes about Dr. Marvin Smith who taught Koko Jones how to play. Dr. Marvin Smith Master Sessions, His Dedication To Teaching...Masters And Young Students Over 40 years ago, I met this genius drummer musician and have been friends ever since. He was not only a gifted,talented musician, but he developed into a wonderful talented educator. Marvin's ability to give everything to others includes helping people learn how to have more confidence in themselves by learning how to be prepared. He's a stickler for demanding that a student practice and become familiar with songs. Every week Marvin has a master session in his personal 48 track recording studio. It is there, that all the magic takes place as students have a chance to play with the masters and learn from their experiences playing music on the highest level by rubbing shoulders with these players. The documentation that results in over 1200 videos, has placed Marvin in a position way beyond most major recording artists and well known performers. Few have ever done what he does and also documented to that extent. The videos are placed on vimeo and the students have a chance to see their own accomplishments. Marvin Smith is also known as Dr. Marvin Smith and has achieved this title from his peers as they admire the unique gifts that he has acquired. Education in the music field has advanced by many using some of his "down home" educational techniques. Marvin brings forward the tradition of Jazz as he honors what the masters of the past have done to build the art-form to what it is today. Recently, long time friend and student of his, Koko Jones came to the new 48 track studio to play and talk about her new book that she is writing. The book talks about TRUE LIFE EVENTS and experiences, many shared with her teacher of 35 years, Dr. Marvin Smith. Koko Jones' life is so very interesting and the documented Series # 124 is a valuable archive along with the other over 1200 videos that Dr. Marvin Smith has produced. In this Series # 124, the spirit that is inside of both Marvin and Koko are blended and draw a vivid picture to the listener of all the events that have taken place in each of their creative lives. Koko Jones has performed with Whitney Houston, Archie Shepp, The Isley Brothers and so many well known artists that it would take up this entire page to list them all. She has experienced valuable lessons that can be communicated through her music. She went to The University Of Massechusetts Amherst and has an interesting story to tell about college life for music students and how the emphasis in the music department at the time, was mostly on classical music, not jazz. The story of Koko Jones, Master Percussionist is a story that every young student should read about. In listening to both Dr. Marvin Smith and Koko Jones talk to each other through their drums is an adventure and journey into compassion and understanding that musicians need for each other to be able to create TRUTHFUL MUSICAL STATEMENTS. It is the first key to raising music up as high as it can go and become truly, HEALING MEDICINE, the cure all for all that hurts both emotionally and physically. Giving credit where credit is due is what it's all about. I have been in an orchestra, front row seat, in this Dr, Marvin Smith's life and I have also known Koko Jones almost as long as I've known Marvin.I'm loving it because I'm seeing results and I'm witnessing the compassion that Marvin has for his students and for other master players. Koko Jones came to the studio and was interviewed and this took place through drum beats and musical conversation. Koko Jones book includes things that she learned from Marvin. She has been a student of Marvin's for over 35 years and friends with him for longer than that.I will be writing more about Dr. Marvin Smith and Koko Jones because I believe that there is more to come from these valuable moments that are beyong one video clip in this series 124. It's all about experiences of masters how Dr. Marvin Smith brings them together to teach them as well as the younger students. I will listen to this Series #124 over and over again because there are mountains of truthful experiences to explore when these two friends come together to broadcast and teach drumming by example. LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

Series # 124 Master Sessions Of Dr. Marvin Smith Part 2 with Koko Jones, Andrew Greeney and Jan Jurgielewicz

This second part of Series # 124 is so joyful as I listen to Andrew Greeney and Koko Jones open up with Dr. Marvin Smith playing BELL. The music moves without effort as it represents strong communication between the players. I loved the great playing that both Andrew and Jan Jurgielewicz did along with Masters Smith and Jones. Wow! The teaching aspects of this bandstand experience can't be beat and the beat moves on and on into rainbows of beautiful sound. It's all recorded so well and mixed so perfectly. Nobody is talking on top of each other. These Cats are listening carefully and answering and responding so well to each other. It's like a conversation at the dinner table with everyone talking about their life's experiences. The journey that Dr. Marvin Smith points everyone toward is a journey of people's own individual experiences. Each player is able to add unique personality to the main drum line which Dr. Smith acts as a tour guide on a vacation into another land and world. Dr. Marvin Smith promotes healing as he allows a state of "KOO" to be realized within each person. As the players become unaware of everything but joy and happiness, their level of compassion increases and they want to help each other more and more to achieve that FLOWING wind that is AURA of Master Marvin Smith, the TRUE DOCTOR OF TRUTHFUL DIRECTION. Listen carefully to the storyline that develops as Dr. Marvin Smith's student Jan Jurgielewicz plays so beautifully with Koko Jones and how great this teaching example is. Any student can enter into this groove and serve it well if they can develop listening skills as well as Jan has. I am so moved emotionally with MAX JOY to be able to sit here and react so intensely to Jan's great playing. I loved all the emotional vocalizations that I heard from all the players as they became totally taken over by each others peaceful flow of real awareness representing their own enlightenment. Dr. Marvin Smith has the unique ability of driving players into high levels of SPIRITUAL REALITY. Once a player has tasted this he enters a new level of playing. That's what is being done here on Series # 124 in both parts 1 and 2. This example is one of over 1200 video examples that Dr. Marvin Smith and his recordings represent of great traditional teachings of Jazz Music Roots and the old fashioned way of drawing students into professional reality. The bandstand is where it's and goes along with hard practicing and no fooling around.You are actually preparing your hands to flow freely with little physical effort. Just listen to it and amaze yourself at the "REAL DEAL" Music that's coming out of those drums. There's a lifetime of experience that Dr. Marvin Smith is giving away to these students and all of them will tell you about it if you get a chance to hang with them in Marvin Smith's sound lab and brand new 48 track state of the art studio. Every week this stuff is going down and it's always a new journey being documented freshly and with great sonic representation. The sound and video capture is so great that musicians from all over the world are inquiring about recording at the facility and also having the exposure to the great Master Drummer/Educator/Teacher, the one and only Master of it all, Dr. Marvin Smith who was written up in February 2011 in Modern Drummer Magazine with a 2 page feature article about being such a unique person, THE MAN OF ULTIMATE COMPASSION. LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

Dr. Marvin Smith Master Sessions, His Dedication To Teaching...Masters And Young Students

Over 40 years ago, I met this genius drummer musician and have been friends ever since. He was not only a gifted,talented musician, but he developed into a wonderful talented educator. Marvin's ability to give everything to others includes helping people learn how to have more confidence in themselves by learning how to be prepared. He's a stickler for demanding that a student practice and become familiar with songs. Every week Marvin has a master session in his personal 48 track recording studio. It is there, that all the magic takes place as students have a chance to play with the masters and learn from their experiences playing music on the highest level by rubbing shoulders with these players. The documentation that results in over 1200 videos, has placed Marvin in a position way beyond most major recording artists and well known performers. Few have ever done what he does and also documented to that extent. The videos are placed on vimeo and the students have a chance to see their own accomplishments. Marvin Smith is also known as Dr. Marvin Smith and has achieved this title from his peers as they admire the unique gifts that he has acquired. Education in the music field has advanced by many using some of his "down home" educational techniques. Marvin brings forward the tradition of Jazz as he honors what the masters of the past have done to build the art-form to what it is today. Recently, long time friend and student of his, Koko Jones came to the new 48 track studio to play and talk about her new book that she is writing. The book talks about TRUE LIFE EVENTS and experiences, many shared with her teacher of 35 years, Dr. Marvin Smith. Koko Jones' life is so very interesting and the documented Series # 124 is a valuable archive along with the other over 1200 videos that Dr. Marvin Smith has produced. In this Series # 124, the spirit that is inside of both Marvin and Koko are blended and draw a vivid picture to the listener of all the events that have taken place in each of their creative lives. Koko Jones has performed with Whitney Houston, Archie Shepp, The Isley Brothers and so many well known artists that it would take up this entire page to list them all. She has experienced valuable lessons that can be communicated through her music. She went to The University Of Massechusetts Amherst and has an interesting story to tell about college life for music students and how the emphasis in the music department at the time, was mostly on classical music, not jazz. The story of Koko Jones, Master Percussionist is a story that every young student should read about. In listening to both Dr. Marvin Smith and Koko Jones talk to each other through their drums is an adventure and journey into compassion and understanding that musicians need for each other to be able to create TRUTHFUL MUSICAL STATEMENTS. It is the first key to raising music up as high as it can go and become truly, HEALING MEDICINE, the cure all for all that hurts both emotionally and physically. Giving credit where credit is due is what it's all about. I have been in an orchestra, front row seat, in this Dr, Marvin Smith's life and I have also known Koko Jones almost as long as I've known Marvin.I'm loving it because I'm seeing results and I'm witnessing the compassion that Marvin has for his students and for other master players. Koko Jones came to the studio and was interviewed and this took place through drum beats and musical conversation. Koko Jones book includes things that she learned from Marvin. She has been a student of Marvin's for over 35 years and friends with him for longer than that.I will be writing more about Dr. Marvin Smith and Koko Jones because I believe that there is more to come from these valuable moments that are beyong one video clip in this series 124. It's all about experiences of masters how Dr. Marvin Smith brings them together to teach them as well as the younger students. I will listen to this Series #124 over and over again because there are mountains of truthful experiences to explore when these two friends come together to broadcast and teach drumming by example.

Love Always and Always Love, Habib

habib's drum and bass escape

habib's drum and bass escape by habibsteve I am laying down my deep inner feelings after practicing during a storm power outage. I am playing my drums and bass and recording on a zoom h4n with batteries. Hope this joy I have is transmitted to your heart. LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

03. HABIB'S GROOVE #1

03. HABIB'S GROOVE #1 by habibsteve

Series# 123 Master Sessions Of Dr. Marvin Smith The Truth Be Told Better Than Hollywood with Harvey Kaiser and Lew Scott

Steve Habib 3 minutes ago Series # 123 Master Sessions Of Dr. Marvin Smith,The Truth Be Told Better Than Hollywood with Harvey Kaiser and Lew Scott Let's listen carefully and feel the HEALING ENERGY INSIDE Dr. MARVIN SMITH'S MUSIC and THE POWER COMING OUT OF HIS MEDICINAL DRUMS! Almost everything we touch and see around us has a living pulse inside of it. We need to look no further than the planet we live on to take advantage of its natural vibrational remedies to help us balance the chi energies within our own bodies. Our world is comprised four basic elements. These are air, earth, fire, and water. Understanding what each element represents helps us evaluate where our individual strengths and weaknesses are. Dr. Marvin Smith TAPS INTO THE ELEMENTS AND ALLOWS THEM TO DO THEIR MAGIC. YOU CAN FEEL THIS IN HIS DRUMMING AND THE MUSICIANS HE PERFORMS WITH PLAY ON A HIGHER LEVEL BY TAPPING INTO HIS ABILITY TO TRANSMIT THE ELEMENTS TO OTHERS AS MEDICINE FOR THEIR HEALING. HE DOES THIS THROUGH GIVING AND HAVING DEEP COMPASSION FOR OTHERS. HE USES MUSIC AS HIS CANVASS TO DRAW ON AND PAINT SOUND COLORS REPRESENTING HIS JOYFUL EMOTIONS AND HIS LOVE OF ALL PEOPLE. In this Series # 123, we hear Harvey Kaiser on Sax along with Master bassist Lew Scott. The two instrumentalists interact with Dr. Marvin Smith on many different levels as the music is constantly changing just as The Earth is constantly rotating. Motion NEVER STOPS and Marvin and his musicians are continuously aware of this. EVERYTHING IS BEING PLAYED AND REACTED TO "IN THE MOMENT" WITHOUT REHEARSAL OR A THOUGHT PROCESS. ALL THE ELEMENTS ARE PRESENT IN EACH NOTE OF EVERY BAR. THE BREATH(AIR) IS BEING FED INTO THE MUSIC EVEN WHEN SILENCE BETWEEN THE NOTES EXISTS. FLOW IS CONSTANT AND MARVIN ORCHESTRATES THIS THROUGH EACH OF HIS DRUM SOLOS. Harvey Kaiser's sound is beautiful and rich. He has such a traditional way of playing and yet THE BLUES is always present in his delivery. I have always respected Lew Scott's playing. Lew has a soft but powerful approach to laying down the deep colors underneath Dr. Marvin Smith's GROOVE. The music always makes you want to dance right out of your clothes,go to the ocean and float or lay in The Sun and absorb heath energy and warmth. The Music changes shape constantly just like Water, moving from a liquid to a gas and back to liquid. The FIRE DEVELOPED IN THE MUSIC OF THIS SERIES # 123 is apparent. Just sit back and allow it to HEAT YOUR HEART! MAGNIFICENT, is how I describe this session. The sound of babbling brooks,trees blowing in the wind,vibrational healing is what I call everything. Dr. Marvin Smith is A SOUND THERAPIST and A MASTER OF UNDERSTANDING HUMAN NATURE! Just take a moment as you're listening to Series 123 and allow yourself to ESCAPE EVERYTHING ELSE. Almost as readily available as our breath are the sounds of the natural world. From rain to wind to the ocean and birds, meditating on these aural manifestations brings us not only a sense of peace, but also an experience of connection to the physical world. It is easy to get stuck inside our own heads and our individual lives. We get caught up in our goals and plans and almost forget that we live in a world that is always there, humming away in the background. There is an internal shift that occurs when we tune into that background and really give it our attention. It’s as if we are discovering a more expansive world, because we are. We are also experiencing ourselves in relation to something larger. This discovery makes us feel rejuvenated and more expansive. Think about each cell in our body and how it is representative of THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. OUR BODY IS A COMPLETE MINIATURIZATION OF EVERYTHING AND IT ALSO IS IN CONSTANT MOTION. SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS, "COMPASSIONATE SOUND AND MOTION", THE VERY NAME OF DR. MARVIN SMITH'S LIFETIME PROJECT AND ONE OF HIS ENTERPRISES, THE NEW 48 TRACK STUDIO THAT THIS AND EVERY ONE OF HIS 1200+ VIDEOS ARE RECORDED IN! IT ALL HAPPENS AND IS DOCUMENTED DO THAT OTHERS, BOTH STUDENTS AND MASTER MUSICIANS CAN LEARN AND EXPERIENCE ROOTS AND TRADITIONS IN JAZZ MUSIC AND ALL MUSIC. IT IS ARCHIVED FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE SO THAT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND USE IT AS A PURE DEMONSTRATION OF HOW JAZZ ITSELF WAS TAUGHT "RIGHT ON THE BANDSTAND" WITH ALL THE MASTERS AVAILABLE TO THE EAGER YOUNG PLAYERS WHO WERE PUT ON THE BANDSTAND TO LEARN BY DOING, AND GROWING FROM THAT EXPERIENCE. JAZZ IS SERIOUS AS AN ART-FORM BECAUSE IT PIRELY REPRESENTS CULTURE AND TRADITION AND WITHOUT THAT, EVERYTHING SOUNDS MECHANICAL AND PLANNED. LIFE IS MYSTERIOUS AND LITTLE CAN BE PLANNED BECAUSE IT HAPPENS SO QUICKLY, "IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE" THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'RE IN A NEW DIMENSION. Dr. Marvin Smith is ALWAYS CHANGING AND NEVER RESTING. HE APPRECIATES EVERY MOMENT OF HIS LIFE AND THAT'S WHAT HIS MUSIC IS ALL ABOUT. You can listen to him here in 2011/2012 and you can go back to 1983 and listen to him with The Sun Ra Arkestra in Germany, with Archie Shepp and so many others and one thing is for certain, DR. MARVIN SMITH HAS ALWAYS and STILL IS TAKING THE FRONT LINE IN THE ORCHESTRA OF GIVING AND COMPASSION AS THE CONDUCTOR, SUPREME EDUCATOR-TEACHER AND FRIEND OF ALL PEOPLE. HIS MUSIC SAYS, "I DO IT BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT EVERYONE". He cares so much that he let his student Andrew Greeney play drums on the first two cuts. Andrew has continued to evolve in his drumming and sounds better and better overtime you listen to him. Andrew is also a MASTER AUDIO ENGINEER AND VIDEOGRAPHER AT COMPASSIONATE SOUND AND MOTION. Jan Jurgielewicz is also a student of Marvin Smith's and he continues to grow each time I hear him perform. Marvin Smith's ability to teach drums is successful because he takes a personal interest in each of his student's lives. "RUBBING SHOULDERS" WITH A MASTER MAKES A DIFFERENCE." THAT'S THE REAL WAY TO TEACH JAZZ AND IT'S THE WAY THAT IT WAS ALWAYS DONE IN THE PAST. THINK ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS, JAZZ MOBILE WITH DR. BILLY TAYLOR,THINK, ART TATUM, THINK CHARLIE PARKER, DIZZY GILLESPIE, ASK ARTURO SANDOVAL, ASK GARY BARTZ,ASK DAVE LIEBMAN,ASK ANYONE WHO'S AROUND TODAY THAT WAS EXPOSED TO THE GREAT MASTERS! LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

Sun Ra - Night Music 1989

Marvin Smith's brother Earl "BUSTER" Smith on drums here

Sun Ra Arkestra - Aurex Jazz Festival (1988)

Marvin Smith's brother Ear "BUSTER" Smith on drums here

Sun Ra - Berlin - 1986

Sun Ra Arkestra "Shadow World" West Berlin