By Holliday Woodard

In a dark auditorium with nothing but a spotlight over the stage, the audience welcomed Walter Smith III with cheers and claps only to be quickly silenced by the tenor saxophone in his hands. Smith and his band Twio headlined two shows on the evening of March 9 in Kogod Theatre as part of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Visiting Artist Series.

Smith was joined on stage by his old friends, Obed Calvaire on drums and Matt Brewer on bass. Calvaire and Smith both went to Manhattan School of Music, and Brewer has played on a number of Smith’s albums. 

The three do not get to play together often due to being in different musical groups, according to Austin Sposato, the artistic planning coordinator for The Clarice. Smith mentioned this as well, apologizing for “indulging himself” in the music. 

“I think the fact that they are friends they can really trust each other to take more risks and know that they’re going to be with them no matter what happens, so that empowers them,” said Tommy Holladay, an audience member. 

The theatre was set up to resemble a jazz bar. There were round tables draped in black cloth and high top chairs in the back. There was a beverage stand serving drinks, and an audience filled with people of all ages. 

Smith played about six songs, although the impulsive improvisation made it difficult for even the musicians to tell. His body movements and the colorful lights glowing behind him reflected the electric mood of the music and the bright tone of the tenor saxophone. 

“There were times where he would play the same thing over and over again for like a minute, or play in the same way in the same written field or the same staccato field, and the way he was moving his body really let you know that he was into his performance. He was committed to what he was doing,” said Caleb Johnson, a junior at UMD with a music minor. 

Each musician spent most of their performance with their eyes closed, feeling the music while moving the rhythm back and forth. With very little communication, the musicians seamlessly traded motifs. 

“They’re playing the melody of the song but they are adding so much embellishment to it in turn that they changed the way it was phrased, they added notes, subtracted notes but the skeleton is always there in the song. When they are not playing the melody, they are just soloing over the chord changes,” said Holladay.

Earlier in the week, Smith participated in the Jazz Jam at The Hall CP. There, he sat with students of the School of Music and gave them tips from his experience as a professional musician. 

“What excited me about Walter in particular, is that he is one of the greatest living tenor saxophone players out there, and I think it can be really inspiring if you’re a student studying music to hear what that highest level of performance and creativity looks like and sounds like,” said Sposato. 

Featured image: A headshot of Walter Smith III, who performed at the University of Maryland last week. Photo courtesy of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.