Nate Smith: "Jazz is the Biggest Four-Letter Word in the English Language"

Nate Smith: "Jazz is the Biggest Four-Letter Word in the English Language"

From Wong Notes by Premier Guitar

April 15, 2026 · 1h 0m · Season 9 · Episode 9

About this episode

Nate Smith discusses his career journey, the importance of live performance, and the future of jazz with host Cory Wong.

Fresh off winning two Grammys and being named artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival, drum legend Nate Smith sits down with host and bandmate Cory Wong to chart his career journey on this new episode of Wong Notes . Smith details his rise from playing with jazz giants like Dave Holland and Chris Potter's Underground to the viral visibility of the Fearless Flyers. A particularly cool gem that he shares is the fax-era story of how a beat tape led to him receiving a songwriting credit on Michael Jackson's Invincible : “I made my Michael Jackson songwriter deal at Kinko’s, brother!” Smith says. The conversation turns to the essential, irreplaceable muscle of live performance, the importance of artistic concept over chops, and the need for new leaders to steward the future of jazz. Nate also teases his upcoming trio run with J3PO and Cartoons, and the long-demanded reunion with Cory and Victor Wooten. Tune in to the episode to get all the goods. Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong Visit Nate Smith: https://www.natesmithdrums.com/ Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com Visit Premier…

People in this episode

Host: Cory Wong

Guest: Nate Smith

Topics covered

  • jazz
  • music career
  • live performance
  • artistic leadership
  • songwriting
  • Grammys

Keywords

  • Nate Smith
  • Cory Wong
  • jazz
  • Grammys
  • songwriting
  • live performance
  • Fearless Flyers

Sponsors

DistroKid

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Newport Jazz Festival, Michael Jackson, Fearless Flyers, Premier Guitar

Books & works: Invincible

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