Richard Smith's latest Heads Up release Flow features the veteran smooth jazz guitarist's hi-voltage twist on "Milestones," one of Miles Davis' most beloved tunes. It's not only testament to the huge influence the legendary trumpeter's music had during Smith's formative years, but also a reflection of Smith's own ability to push stylistic envelopes. On each successive recording since 1988's Puma Creek, the Oregon native has found new and vibrant settings for his electric and acoustic melodies, based on his love for R&B, pop, rock and jazz.

While Flow features Smith's unmistakable way with a catchy hook and seductive grooving, he brings an intensely urban hip-hop flow into the mix, balancing the lush ballads with edgier tunes built around bass and drum machine loops, or 70’s horn band harmonies, to exciting effect. "Even though I include many smooth tunes which have always been part of my musical life, this project definitely has more grit and toughness to it, almost a throwback to my earlier days when I was taking a more jazz fusion type approach to my music," says Smith, whose successful 1997 Heads Up debut First Kiss followed Puma Creek (1988), Rockin' The Boat (1989), Bella Firenze (1992) and From My Window (1994).

A rich blend of so many elements near and dear to Smith's musical heart ensures that Flow is not only one of his greatest creative achievements, but one of the most accessible and inviting as well. The title track features Smith's laid back electric strings over a thick, throbbing bass and shuffling percussion groove, while the cool laid back funk of "Drive Time" shifts moods from a lilting guitar melody to a hard driving jam between Smith and keyboardist/co-producer Tim Redfield. After the intense, brassy blues-flavored take on "Milestones," Smith quotes Shakespeare in the title of the haunting and seductive ballad "Love Looks Without Eyes." Longtime Smith fans will recognize "The Great North" from his first album Puma Creek; here, he retools it with breezy acoustic musings over a trip-hoppy synth vibe featuring some space age sound effects. "Take That!" keeps the futuristic effects flowing, only in the context of a hot, punchy explosion featuring Eric Marienthal's wailing alto and Smith's easy guitar over brassy harmony lines. The guitarist may be the only smooth jazz artist ever to cover a standard Kenny G tune, but he spruces up the gentle "Pastel" with a bluesy, organ inflected mid-tempo groove. The final two tunes "When the Soul is Smiling " (another Shakespeare reference) and "Mix it Up!" bring Smith's heavy Earth, Wind & Fire horn band influences to light, blending brass, soul and blues with the help of Sean Holt's sax and Dave Ryan's trombone.

“Like my idols Miles and John Coltrane, I’m always looking for new ways to express myself, getting into the spirit of mixing up many influences at once,” Smith explains. “I have found myself drawn lately to great drum loops and hip-hop. So I created the album like a rapper in some ways, building tunes around a sharp percussion and bass groove. The challenge here was finding a way to integrate my guitar into this setting, fulfilling my desire to play a little differently and also paying strict attention to the overall flow of the album. Calling it Flow is my way of saying that while in the past I concerned myself with the flow of each tune, here my eyes were on the vibe of the collection as a whole.”

The release of Flow coincides with another important milestone in Smith's career – a decision to leave the touring sideman lifestyle to focus solely on his own music and band. Although he has been fairly prolific as a solo artist and is one of smooth jazz radio's most consistent chart performers, (more)
Smith had spent ten years on the road and in the studio with saxophonist Richard Elliot, as well as playing hundreds of gigs with other top smooth jazz artists. "I have had the opportunity to travel the world and entertain so many people, and I am grateful for the experience," says Smith. "I love the spirit of playing someone else's music, but I'm at another level entirely when I'm playing my own songs and connecting with audiences who come to see me. It was time to go back to my early musical goal of playing my own music, taking some risks and going against the grain for the greater good of my career."

While rising in the ranks of smooth jazz guitarists these past ten years and playing 125 dates a year with Richard Elliot, Smith has also chaired-and continues to head--the famed guitar department at USC, where he began the country's first doctoral program in guitar studies. While all of his previous four albums have hit the Top Five on the national smooth jazz airplay charts, several received critical accolades as well: Puma Creek was nominated for “Record of the Year” in Japan by Ad Lib magazine, while Radio & Records named the Richard Smith Unit “Best Group of 1990” for Rockin' The Boat. The international interest garnered by Bella Firenze also led to Smith's first tour of Italy. First Kiss was his best selling project ever and was voted “Album of the Year” by the Midwest-based Tune Up magazine.

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Smith began focusing on a career as a studio musician when he was 13. "I went with my buddies to see Chick Corea's Return to Forever band and I was so floored by a young Al Di Meola's performance, that I ran home, called my girlfriend and broke up with her on the spot. I wouldn't let anything interfere with my playing or practicing guitar! More than just natural ability, I've built my career on the ethic of very hard work."

While attending the University of Oregon (an experience chronicled on "The Fighting Ducks" from Bella Firenze), he was tapped by fellow Oregonian, keyboardist Dan Siegel to go out on the road. Smith returned to U of O to continue his musical studies, then transferred to the famed jazz program at North Texas State, where he received his B.S. in 1984. He joined the faculty and became head of the USC guitar department not long after receiving his master's degree in guitar performance there. He has also taught seminars at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, at the Musicians Academy of London, North Texas State and the International Musicians Academy of Malaysia.

"Looking back, it's clear to me that my life's never been about chasing after the typical or mundane, but always reaching out, trying new endeavors, new ideas, new creative approaches and challenges," he says. "While all the travel has been amazing just for the pure experience of it, I have also gained an invaluable education by working with so many great players who keep pushing me to new and greater heights. There is always so much to learn, so many ways to grow.”