{{BLP refimprove|date=July 2021}} {{short description|American musician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ches Smith | image = ches-smith.jpg | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Gordon McChesney Smith | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} | birth_place = [[San Diego]], California, United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} | death_place = | origin = [[Sacramento, California]], United States | instrument = {{hlist|Drums|percussion|vibraphone}} | genre = {{hlist|[[Jazz]]|[[Rock music|rock]]|[[experimental music|experimental]]}} | occupation = Musician | years_active = | label = | website = {{URL|chessmith.com}} }}
'''Ches Smith''' is an American musician, whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and [[vibraphone]].
He recorded and performed an album of his own solo percussion pieces entitled ''Congs for Brums'' (2006).<ref>{{cite web|title =CD/LP Review: Congs for Brums |first=Florence|last=Wetzel |publisher=All About Jazz| url =https://www.allaboutjazz.com/congs-for-brums-ches-smith-free-porcupine-society-review-by-florence-wetzel |date =2006-11-18 |access-date=2010-09-24}}</ref> In 2010 he released ''Noise to Men''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessmith.com/noisetomen.html|title=Congs For Brums Noise to Men|website=Chessmith.com|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref>
== Biography == Smith was born in [[San Diego]], California, and raised in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ches Smith bio |url=https://jazzinfo.org/artist/ches-smith |access-date=2024-06-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> After studying philosophy at the [[University of Oregon]], he moved to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] in 1995.<ref name=":0" /> He studied composition, improvisation and percussion with [[Fred Frith]], [[Pauline Oliveros]], [[William Winant]] and [[Alvin Curran]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1999, he toured with [[Mr. Bungle]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2019 |title=A series of interviews about Mr. Bungle's 'California' PART 2 |url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2019/07/a-series-of-interviews-about-mr-bungles_18.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102202326/https://faithnomorefollowers.com/2019/07/a-series-of-interviews-about-mr-bungles_18.html |archive-date=2 November 2019 |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=faithnomorefollowers |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Discography== [[Image:ches-smith01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Ches Smith.]] {{Clean up|section|reason=Formatting, non-use of wikitable(s), laundry list appearance, unreferenced|date=July 2021}} ===As leader/co-leader=== *2006 – ''Congs for Brums'' (Free Porcupine Society) *2010 – ''Noise to Men'' (Self Released) & Congs for Brums *2010 – ''Finally Out of My Hands'' (Skirl) & These Arches *2012 – ''Psycho Predictions'' (Figure Eight Records) & Congs for Brums *2013 – ''Hammered'' (Clean Feed) & These Arches *2014 – ''International Hoohah'' (ForTune) & These Arches *2016 – ''The Bell'' (ECM) Trio w Craig Taborn, Mat Maneri *2018 – ''A Complete and Tonal Disaster'' (Self Released) & Congs for Brums *2021 – ''Path of Seven Colors'' (Pyroclastic) & We All Break *2022 – ''Interpret It Well'' (Pyroclastic) *2024 – ''Laugh Ash'' (Pyroclastic) *2025 – ''Clone Row'' (Otherly Love Records)
===As sideman=== ;with [[Tim Berne]] *2012 – ''[[Snakeoil (album)|Snakeoil]]'' (ECM) *2013 – ''[[Shadow Man (Tim Berne album)|Shadow Man]]'' (ECM) *2015 – ''[[You've Been Watching Me]]'' (ECM) *2015 – ''Spare'' (Screwgun) *2017 – ''[[Incidentals]]'' (ECM) *2020 – ''The Fantastic Mrs. 10'' (Intakt) *2020 – ''The Deceptive 4 (Live)'' (Intakt) *2022 - ''Decay'' (Screwgun)
;with [[Trevor Dunn]]'s [[Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant|trio-convulsant]] *2004 – ''[[Sister Phantom Owl Fish]]'' (Ipecac)
;with [[Mary Halvorson]] *2008 - ''Dragon's Head'' *2010 - ''Saturn Sings'' *2012 - ''Bending Bridges'' *2013 - ''Illusionary Sea'' *2013 - ''Ghost Loop'' *2016 - ''Away With You''
;with Moe! Staiano *2001 – ''The Lateness of Yearly Presentations''
;with Moe! Staiano's Moe!kestra! *2006 – ''An Inescapable Siren Within Earshot Distance Therein and Other Whereabouts'' *2007 – ''Two Rooms of Uranium Inside 83 Markers''
;with Graham Connah *2001 – ''The Only Song We Know''
;with [[Good For Cows]] *2001 – ''Good for Cows'' *2003 – ''Cows Less Than or Equal To'' *2004 – ''Bebop Fantasy'' *2008 – ''10th Concert Anniversary'' *2010 – ''Audumla''
;with Theory Of Ruin *2002 – ''Counter–Culture Nosebleed'' *2003 – ''Frontline Posterchild''
;with Mitch Marcus Quintet *2002 – ''Entropious''
;with [[Lou Harrison]] *2003 – ''Drums Along the Pacific''
;with [[John Zorn]] *2003 – ''[[Voices in the Wilderness]]'' (Tzadik) *2016 – ''The Painted Bird'' (Tzadik) *2018 – ''The Urmuz Epigrams'' (Tzadik) *2018 – ''In a Convex Mirror'' (Tzadik) *2020 – ''Les Maudits'' (Tzadik) *2021 – ''Heaven and Earth Magick'' (Tzadik) *2022 – ''Incerto'' (Tzadik) *2022 – ''Suite For Piano'' (Tzadik)
;with [[Xiu Xiu]] *2002 – ''[[Knife Play]]'' with [[Greg Saunier]] *2003 – ''[[A Promise (Xiu Xiu album)|A Promise]]'' *2005 – ''[[La Forêt (album)|La Foret]]'' *2007 – ''[[Remixed & Covered|Remixed and Covered]]'' as [[Good for Cows]] *2008 – ''[[Women as Lovers (album)|Women as Lovers]]'' *2010 – ''[[Dear God, I Hate Myself|Dear God I Hate Myself]]'' *2012 – ''[[Always (Xiu Xiu album)|Always]]'' *2013 – ''[[Nina (Xiu Xiu album)|Nina]]''
;with [[David Torn]] *2019 – ''Sun Of Goldfinger'' (ECM) *2020 – ''Sun Of Goldfinger (Congratulations to You)'' (Screwgun) *2022 - ''Ozmir'' (Screwgun)
;with [[Secret Chiefs 3]] *2004 – ''[[Book of Horizons]]'' *2008 – ''[[Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9]]'' *2013 – ''[[Book of Souls: Folio A]]'' *2019 – ''[[The Book Beri'ah Vol 10—Malkhut]]''
;with [[Aaron Novik]] *2004 – Gubbish: ''Notations in Tonations'' *2006 – Kipple: ''Flashes of Irrational Happiness''
;with Redressers *2004 – ''To Each According...''
;with [[Carla Bozulich]]/[[Evangelista (band)|Evangelista]] *2009 – ''Prince of Truth'' *2011 – ''In Animal Tongue'' *2014 – ''I'm Gonna Stop Killing''
;with [[Will Bernard|Will Bernard Trio]] *2005 – ''Directions to My House''
;with Fever Pitch *2005 – ''Just Drums 2 Project''
;with Sean Hayes *2006 – ''Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star''
;with Todd Sickafoose *2006 – ''Blood Orange''
;with [[Ben Goldberg]] Quintet *2006 – ''The Door, the Hat, the Chair, the Fact''
;with 7 Year Rabbit Cycle *2006 – ''Ache Horns''
;with [[Fred Frith]], Darren Johnston, Devin Hoff and [[Larry Ochs (musician)|Larry Ochs]] *2007 – ''Reason to Move''
;with [[Marc Ribot]]'s Ceramic Dog *2008 – ''[[Party Intellectuals]]'' *2013 – ''[[Your Turn]]'' *2018 – ''[[YRU Still Here?]]'' *2020 - What I Did On My Long 'Vacation' *2021 - Hope *2023 - Connection
;with [[:ru:Фёдоров, Леонид Валентинович|Leonid Fedorov]], [[:ru:Волков, Владимир Александрович|Vladimir Volkov]], [[John Medeski]], [[Marc Ribot]] *2010 – ''[[:ru:Разинримилев|RazinRimILev]]''
;with [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]] *2018 – ''[[Uncharted Territories]]''
;with [[Spencer Krug|Moonface]] *2018 – ''This One's for the Dancer & This One's for the Dancer's Bouquet''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.chessmith.com/ Ches Smith homepage] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927152754/http://daz.com/artists/Ches%20Smith.html Ches Smith on DAZ.com] *{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p544962|label=Ches Smith}} *[http://www.downtownmusic.net/pictures/picturesrhtml/Ches_Smith/default.htm Picture gallery at downtownmusic.net]
{{Xiu Xiu}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ches}} [[Category:American rock drummers]] [[Category:American jazz drummers]] [[Category:American percussionists]] [[Category:American vibraphonists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant members]] [[Category:Good for Cows members]] [[Category:Xiu Xiu members]] [[Category:American male drummers]] [[Category:Drummers from San Diego]]