W.E.S.: 2012

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Happy Birthday to my gorgeous, amazing, multi-talented, and super-fantastic wife!

Friday, April 20, 2012

'Bout to go play with my group The WES Group for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Gonna spread positive vibes across the whole downtown. Take a lunch break and check us out...Jefferson Memorial 1:15pm

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Take the bow of the sacred scriptures, place on it the arrow of devotion. Then draw the bowstring of meditation and aim at the target, the Lord of Love - Upanishads

Friday, April 13, 2012

Back from a great trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil...thanks to Monica, Vinny, Amanda and Renata for all your hardwork and fellowship. Also thanks to all the other panelists for the insightful, informative and inspiring presentations. Hip hop is changing lives in Brazil.

Monday, April 9, 2012

On my way to Brazil to give a talk on Hip Hop and the Diaspora at the Teachers College in Sao Paulo. Music is a global conversation

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter!!!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Here in beautiful Savannah GA about to give a talk on Hip Hop and the Diaspora. Shout out to Mr. Carter and Lady Grace for putting this together.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Four years ago I walked up the stairs to a fabulously designed lounge in SLU and met the love of my life. Two years later “I put a ring on it.” Now we are two years in sweetheart and I “love your more today than yesterday.” In the words of the song I wrote for you “It seems like yesterday when you gave me a glance, now our souls are embraced in the cosmic dance.” Happy Anniversary sweetie, I love you.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Message to all the fellas: if you are 35 and over go to the doctor and get your checkup. Start taking an aspirin once a day and exercise 3 times a week. If you have dependents get term life insurance you can afford. START saving for your retirement and STOP working so hard. START enjoying life with friends and family. When it’s all said and done you won’t be saying “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”

Great show last night Paige, Kris, Sam, Lampkin, Angelo, Akua, Baye and all who helped put it together! I had a great time....Liner Notes!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

thought + word + action = manifestation

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The oak sleeps in the acorn The bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul, a waking angel stirs DREAMS ARE THE SEEDLINGS OF REALITY -N. Hill

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Love Day to One and All!!!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Thanks Whitney for your magnificent voice and for wonderful memories growing up with your music

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Most High think through me, feel through me, speak through me, act through me, love through me, breathe through me - Sai Baba

W.E.S. Bio

William E. Smith, Ph.D.

William E. Smith holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland, a MM in jazz composition and a BM in jazz studies from Howard University. With education and performance as his focal points, Smith is the Music Industry Coordinator at North Carolina Central University where he teaches courses on music industry, management and hip hop history. He was also an assistant professor of music at American University where he taught courses in jazz history, rock history, music appreciation and conducted the American University Jazz Ensemble.

He is a frequent lecturer and clinician in jazz, hip hop, and the music industry. His dissertation on hip hop and its relationship with performance and ritual was completed with fellowship assistance from the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the African Diaspora. He published this ethnographic text in his new book, "Hip Hop as Performance and Ritual: Biography and Ethnography in Underground Hip Hop."

As a performer, he has performed and recorded with many ensembles in a variety of genres, and has led his own traditional jazz group, the W.E.S. Group, for thirteen years. The group has recorded four albums including “A Jazz Mass,” an original composition of the Episcopal and Catholic liturgy in a lush jazz arrangement. Their latest recording, “Ancestors” was released November 2006 and they just recently went on a Caribbean tour performing at the St. Lucia, Bonaire, and Anguilla Jazz Festivals.

Some of the individuals he has performed or recorded with include: James Moody, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Larry Ridley, David Baker, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Cynda Williams and Malcolm Jamal-Warner. Dr. Smith also composes music for documentaries and film. He composed music for a PBS documentary entitled “Across the River” (a documentary on the community in Anacostia, southeast Washington, DC) and for several independent films: “The Green Line,” “Search for Osun,” “Finally Sayin’ What I Really Mean…”

In 2007 Dr. Smith was elected DC Chapter president of the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) and he was also elected as a board member to the DC Chapter of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences – Grammy Foundation).

Dr. Smith is also president and founder of the IAHHE (International Association for Hip Hop Education) and the BE Community Foundation. Through the IAHHE he has held teacher-training workshops at the National Music Center in Washington, DC and successfully integrated a hip hop curriculum into the Friendship Public Charter School’s summer and after school program. Through the BE Community Foundation he is directing a summer music camp in Anguilla, West Indies and in Asheboro and Randleman, NC.

Through performance and education Dr. William E. Smith endeavors to inspire as well as enlighten audiences with an awareness and enjoyment of music and the arts, that brings people together and can last for generations.