Listen to the first 30 seconds of the first track on our CD, Lo Que Tú Querías. Did you hear that soaring falsetto voice? That is none other than our saxophonist Tim Smith. A man of many talents, Tim has been with GarDel since 2008 but got his degree many, many years before that, from the University of Soul where he double majored in Positive Vibes and One-Drop Studies.1
One of the great things about Orquesta GarDel is that its members are very active in the musical community. Just a few examples: trumpeter Al Strong and timbalero Brevan Hampden both lead their own jazz combos. Pianist Eric Hirsh and bassist Pete Kimosh are one-half of hip hop quartet The Beast (with whom GarDel collaborated on this salsa/hip hop music video). Vocalist Jaime Roman sings with Orquesta K’Che and Caribe Vibe. And Tim is frontman/singer/saxist/flautist/keyboardist (sometimes all at the same time!) for the eponymous Tim Smith Band.
We are excited to have a summer chock-full of shows in the NC Triangle and Triad regions. Each event is either a music festival or a co-bill with another band playing some sort of dance music from the African diaspora. We kick it off on Friday June 8th at Casbah in Durham, drawing from within the GarDel ranks to fill out the night. It’s none other than the Tim Smith Band, getting your hips swaying with some energetic ska, funk, and jazz before GarDel busts the night open with more salsa and timba.
To give you a taste of what’s in store, here is a live video of the TSB performing at last year’s Carrboro music festival. You might spot a familiar bass player…
One final video, this time a demonstration of multi-layered GarDel family collaboration. Here is Eric and Pete’s group The Beast, performing their song ‘Interfaith Dialogue” at Shakori Hills, with special guests Andy and Tim (also from GarDel). Watch out for the chorus, where Tim’s vocal really takes it to church.
- Okay fine, he actually went to Oberlin to study Jazz. ↩