FEATURING THE TALENTS OF:
Sam goldsmith (vibes, piano)
Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax)
Jon Evans (bass)
Peter Hargreaves (alto sax)
Evan Hughes (drums)
Josh Jones (drums)
Brad McKeague (drums)
Stephen Saxon (trumpet)
David Starck (piano)
Jonathan Stein (bass)
Marty Wehner (trombone)
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I met Sam the summer of 2005 when he was sixteen years old. I was a first time attendee at a remarkable institution called “Jazz Camp West” set in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California. During an acoustic concert primarily of camp faculty, I heard a tall lanky teenage kid play an original composition on vibes. I was overwhelmed by the dexterity and taste of the performer, the sophistication of the piece (“Summer Victory Dance”), and the emotional depth of his material. I learned during the year that Sam has a wealth of material equally inspiring.
The tracks on this, his debut CD, were recorded over three days during the summer of 2006 and feature a wonderful array of talented performers, some as young as sixteen. A 2006 graduate of Berkeley High School’s renowned music program, Sam now attends New York University. It is an honor to have produced this CD, the first jazz project for Sting A Bee Back Records. I know you will enjoy it.
~ Michael Gill
Sam goldsmith was born in Oakland, California on September 25. He started taking guitar lessons when he was 6 years old. When he was 7 years old, he began to play the piano, and a few months later began to take lessons. He met his future hero and mentor, Peter Apfelbaum, at Feather River Jazz Camp, and the two quickly became good friends. Sam had a knack for writing music early on, and when he was 10 years old, he played his first concert with a group of composers his piano teacher formed, the “Young Composers’ Workshop” at Strings in Berkeley, California. The show was recorded and became the first CD he appeared on, the first of 4 Young Composers’ Workshop CDs Sam would appear on, all before he was in his teens. Sam was introduced to the vibraphone in middle school by drummer/percussionist Jim Munzinrider, the band director at the East Bay School for the Arts and Sciences. He continued to play the instrument throughout without taking lessons until he was accepted into the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble (directed by Charles Hamilton) on the vibraphone. He promptly bought an instrument and began taking lessons from Michael Golds. Sam quickly became a key soloist in the band and won numerous solo awards at competitions in Monterey, Reno and Folsom, as well as others. He led 2 combos during his four-year stand that played many of his originals and placed in national high school jazz competitions. Sam toured Europe twice with the band, and conducted a big band piece he wrote and arranged in front of a crowd of 5,000 in the Umbria Jazz Festival. Sam has also played in the Vienne Jazz Festival and the Montreaux Jazz Festival. During his high school years, Sam began attending jazz Camp West, where he hooked up and jammed with musicians such as Joe Gillman, Tutti Heath, Randy Porter, Anton Schwartz, Jovino Santos-Neto, Wayne Wallace, Will Bernard, and others. Once, he was a guest in a faculty concert, playing a song he wrote entitled “Summer Victory Dance” with his vibes teacher and Peter Apfelbaum. A member in the audience, Michael Gill, contacted him afterward and signed Sam to his new indie label, Sting-A-Bee-Back-records. They recorded Sam’s first CD as a leader, “Summer Victory Dance” the next summer, featuring Peter Apfelbaum, Jon Evans, Marty Wehner, Josh Jones, and others. The project featured all originals except “In A Sentimental Mood” by Duke Ellington. The CD was released on June 28, 2007, and that summer Sam played a sold-out show at the Jazz School in Berkeley; people had to stand due to a lack of seats. Sam has studied with musicians such as Stefon Harris, Gil Goldstein, and Andy Milne in New York City, his more-or-less permanent residence now. However, he currently is studying music and European history in Florence, Italy, at the moment. He has played in three venues in the city including the world famous Pinocchio Jazz Club, and he has more concerts in the future in Umbria, Ferrara, and other surrounding areas. He is currently studying with Battista Lena.
