Album Notes

THIS IS A LIVE ALBUM. Taken from various shows it excludes the quirky stories Tom is known for, but does capture some of the intensities of his live playing. Those things that happen to the music in performance that make performing so much a part of Tom's life.

Tom Smith has been making music for more than three decades. His unique style has caught the ear of music critics throughout the country. His contemporaries have lauded his playing skills since he came onto the Northern California folk scene in the 1970's. He has performed from one side of the country to another in venues as diverse as the music he plays. He has shared stages with artists such as Odetta, John Hammond, Michael Hedges, Robin Ford, Tuck and Patti, Dave Von Ronk, John Fahey, Jessee Winchester and Todd Phillips.

Tom has a style all his own. It reflects the influences of jazz, blues, country as well as classical composers. With influences that include Beethoven, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Tuck Andress; Tom has followed a path that is original and heartfelt.

His performances take audiences on a creative tour through the world of their own imaginations. From dancing leprechauns and rose-scented evenings to the darker and mysterious places that live within us all. Tom creates sonic images with his guitar and banjo, creating "musical pictures" for his listeners. He creates a unique musical universe and helps his audience explore it.

In his book "American Guitar", author and composer Maurizio Angeletti said that Tom "...is completly free from the barriers of commercial music...the playing is, and couldn't be other than a reflection about life, and the conceptual transcription of it into music..."