Kirk Smith

Who is Kirk Smith?

Kirk F Smith is an American bass player who performs on both the acoustic and electric basses. Born May 27, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kirk started playing bass at age 13 in Trenton, NJ. As a bass major, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education from The College of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, 1972. He also taught, and was a Graduate Assistant at Temple University, College of Music, Philadelphia, PA, 1973-74.

Kirk studied with Richard Davis in New York while teaching music in public schools in New Jersey. During this time he performed with several resort house-bands in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, and the Catskills in New York State, backing up the many entertainment acts that came through daily. He spent two years on the road with show bands working from Toronto to the Bahamas.

Then Kirk joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Jimmy Henderson in 1976, which led to another year on the road, and included tours of the U.S., Europe, Scandinavia, England, and Japan. He also joined Stan Kenton's Band for the last tour that Stan would do in 1978.

Since moving to California in 1977, Kirk has performed, recorded, and/or toured all over the world with The Ray Anthony Orchestra, The Tex Beneke Orchestra, Les Brown and The Band Of Renown, The Ray Conniff Orchestra, Billy Vaughn, Michael Feinstein, Michael Crawford, Keely Smith, The Bill Tole Orchestra, Louie Bellson, The Harry James Orchestra, and Suzanne Somers, among others.