Steve Smith's drumming, while decidedly modern, can best be described as a style that embodies the history of U.S. music. Steve is active as a band leader (Steve Smith and Vital Information) as a featured sideman (Mike Stern Group, Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion, Steps Ahead, Hiromi-The Trio Project) and as an educator/clinician. Steve Smith grew up in the Boston area and started playing drums at the age of nine in 1963. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music from 1972 to 1976 with Alan Dawson and Gary Chaffee as his private instructors. Over the past 45 years he has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz and rock - appearing on recordings that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide - including Journey, Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, Zucchero and Jean-Luc Ponty. Other notable jazz artists Smith has played with include Zakir Hussain, Buddy DeFranco, Benny Golson, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, Bill Evans and Hiromi.