Event

Laila Smith Quintet

Recent high school grad and San Jose Jazz education program alum Laila Smith is well on her way to a distinguished career in music. Since 2009, she has received 8 DownBeat Student Music Awards and was recognized in 2012 as one of twenty US Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Her talent has taken her from San Jose's California Theater to Carnegie Hall, Japan, Russia, Finland and Estonia.

Smith released an EP of original compositions as the duo Polenta (with pianist Paul Bloom) in early 2013. This fall, she starts a dual program at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music after a summer spent at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music.

For this performance, Smith will be joined by a fantastic supporting cast, including Saxophonist Anton Schwartz, Guitarist Jeff Bluenz, and John Shifflet on bass.