Pianist/composer Enoch Smith Jr. Drops “Misfits” on Nov. 8th, 2011

“Misfits”
boasts eight originals by the Rochester, NY native, including “Wise
Man, ” inspired by Ellis Marsalis; the instrumental “She Moves Me, ”
written for his wife Gabriella; and “I Want You, ” composed for the 2007
independent film of the same title.

The opening “A Misfits
Theme”—which contains the lyric “Misfit, misfit, misfit/You will never
fit in/Nonconformist creature of peculiar inclination”—draws on the
feeling Smith had when he first attended Berklee College of Music. A
self-taught musician with extensive experience as a church pianist,
Smith auditioned for admission to the school at the suggestion of his
high school choir director and was accepted on the spot. At the time,
however, he clearly needed to upgrade his formal musical skills. His
years at Berklee were “amazing and intimidating and exciting, ” says
Smith, who possesses a rich touch and profound sense of melody and
groove all his own. “I definitely saw that I didn’t fit into the mold.”

Throughout
the album, Smith receives agile support from his rhythm team of bassist
Noah Jackson, a former Detroiter whom he first met, and played with, at
the Greenwich Village jazz club Smalls; and drummer Sangmin Lee, a
Seoul, South Korea-born Berklee colleague who, when not playing jazz in
the U.S., tours with Korean pop superstar Rain. The ringing alto tones
of Sarah Elizabeth Charles are featured on six tracks. Saunders Sermons
(formerly with Maxwell and currently with the Susan Tedeschi-Derek
Trucks Band) sings on two selections, Mavis Poole on one (“I Won’t
Complain, ” Smith’s arrangement of the classic 1990 recording by the
late Rev. Paul Jones).

Misfits’ other non-originals include the
jaunty run through Juan Tizol’s “Caravan”; and Paul McCartney’s
“Blackbird, ” penned as a salute to the Civil Rights Movement.

“I’ve
always loved the Beatles, ” Smith reflects. “I always loved the way
they arranged music, the vocals, and some of the unorthodox recording
techniques. And ‘Blackbird’ is a song that goes with the ‘Misfits’
theme. It talks about being free and breaking out of the box and not
being chained with the structure you’re presented with.”

Smith,
33, is a true “church boy” who was raised in Rochester in the Church of
God by Faith, a Pentecostal denomination, where he began singing at age 3
in the children’s choir. He later played drums for services, then got a
chance to sub for the regular pianist, making his way through trial and
error. “Growing up and playing mostly in church, you get a whole
different side of what music is all about, ” he says. “For me, it was
always more of a spiritual connection than a connection of the head.”

Smith
continues playing piano in two churches, serving as music director for
the Calvary Baptist Church in Paterson, New Jersey, and United Palace
Cathedral, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, a large
church founded by the late “Reverend Ike.”

In addition to his
musical pursuits, Smith works as an aide to New Jersey Assemblywoman
Elease Evans, for whom he writes, reviews, and researches legislation
and meets with her Paterson-area constituents. Law was his original
career choice, and he’d done several internships at Rochester law firms
while still in high school. Then came that life-altering Berklee
audition.