Andy P. Smith is known for the depth of his “pocket” as a performer, his uncanny versatility as a pedagogue, and his wit and creativity as a composer. His recent projects include CD recordings, Finally Here with Angel Roman and Mambo Blue, and Transparency featuring Latin Jazz group Batuquê Trio (www.batuquetrio.com). Recently Andy recorded drums, timbales, shekere, bata, and pandeiro on Angel Roman’s latest yet-to-be-released album. Andy’s recent compositions include: Fora da Caixa, an experimental graphic score for percussion trio; Two Maracatu for Drum-set Duo (a popular youtube video features Andy with drummer Marcus Finnie); and Brazilian Suite for Tambourines, premiered at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Andy’s work Vento no Ritmo (Wind in Rhythm), now a sextet for flutes and percussion was released in 2019 on the CD, Inspirations from Tennessee “The Dolly Project,” by Deanna Little. The work was also featured in a collaborative performance at the National Flute Convention in the same year. Tendencies, originally a commission by Ten Can Percussion, will premier in 2020.

Andy taught as Adjunct Percussion Instructor at Middle Tennessee State University from 1999-2008, and Percussion Instructor for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, a state sponsored program for elite college-bound musicians, from 2004-2017. His career has taken him from the recording studios of Nashville, TN to Tanglewood, Lincoln Center, Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl. He has traveled to Ghana West Africa and the Caribbean to be immersed in African diasporic rhythm. In 2012, Andy was awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study contemporary Brazilian Jazz drumming in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Other recent performances include the Jazz Education Network Convention, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Lotus Music Festival, Ciudad Juarez International Jazz Festival, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, and grant sponsored workshops with Bernard Woma, Musical Ambassador to Ghana. With Batuquê Trio, a Latin-jazz group with Natalie Boeyink and Jamaal Baptiste, Smith performs at Jazz and Percussion Convention Appearances, Festivals, and university residences.

Smith lives in El Paso, TX with his wife Amy Smith (Caixa Trio) and their children. There, he serves as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. Smith directs all aspects of percussion at the Dept. of Music with a philosophy emphasizing professionalism and depth of musicianship. His Doctorate is from the the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, IN where he served as an Associate Instructor and Assistant Director to Michael Spiro's Brazilian Percussion Ensemble.

Andy is published by Row-Loff Publications. Additionally, Andy self-publishes his eclectic works at [email protected]. He is endorsed by Pearl/Adams, Evans Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, and Innovative Percussion.