return to casual Walter Smith III

• 1 Contra 05:02
• 2 River Styx 05:31
• 3 Pup - Pow 02:34
• 4 Shine 06:06
• 5 Mother Stands for Comfort 04:07
• 6 quiet song 05:36
• 7 lamplight 03:37
• 8 Amelia Earhart Ghosted Me 05:26
• 9 K8 + BYU$ 06:45
• 10 REVIVE 03:55
• Total Runtime 48:39

Info for return to casual

Saxophonist and composer Walter Smith III has signed with Blue Note Records and enters a new era of his band leading career with the April 7 release of his remarkable label debut return to casual, the long-anticipated follow-up to his self-released 2014 recording still casual. Reprising their bandmate roles, pianist Taylor Eigsti, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Kendrick Scott reveal a seasoned depth of dimension alongside featured guest appearances by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist James Francies.

Dedicated to collaborative work with some of the music’s most influential voices — including Akinmusire, Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton, Eric Harland, Jason Moran, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Herbie Hancock, Maria Schneider, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Dee Dee Bridgewater — Smith has crafted a distinct style, personal vocabulary, and compositional approach that serves the individuality of his fellow artists. For the past several years, he has been co-leading the acclaimed In Common project with Stevens, exploring and refining different conceptual approaches to writing.

In releasing return to casual, on which he also serves as producer, Smith unveils the many ways his creative expression has expanded, and the influence these collaborative environments have had on his vision as a leader. The album casts a shifting mood across nine original works (and one new arrangement) all composed within weeks of each other. return to casual opens with humor and virtuosity on “Contra,” an homage to Smith’s childhood. Using the iconic video game’s tester code, up up down down left right left right B A B A start, he sequences a melodic thread through the song.

Through return to casual, Smith renews his identity as a band leader, bringing with him an expansive, resonant artistry and a cooperative vision for his original works.

Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone
Kendrick Scott, drums
Harish Raghavan, bass
Matt Stevens, guitar
Taylor Eigsti, piano, Fender Rhodes
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet (tracks 2, 8)
James Francies, Fender Rhodes (track 9)

Walter Smith III
Saxophonist and composer Walter Smith III entered a new era of his band leading career with his remarkable 2023 Blue Note debut return to casual. Dedicated to collaborative work with some of the music’s most influential voices — including Ambrose Akinmusire, Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton, Eric Harland, Jason Moran, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Herbie Hancock, Maria Schneider, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Dee Dee Bridgewater — Smith has crafted a distinct style, personal vocabulary and compositional approach that serves the individuality of his fellow artists. For the past several years, he has been co-leading the acclaimed In Common project with guitarist Matt Stevens, exploring and refining different conceptual approaches to writing. In releasing return to casual, on which he also served as producer, Smith unveiled the many ways his creative expression has expanded, and the influence these collaborative environments have had on his vision as a leader. For 2024’s three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not, Smith paid homage to his hometown of Houston, Texas, with his fellow Houston natives Moran and Eric Harland plus bassist Reuben Rogers. For his 3rd Blue Note album in 2026, Smith reprised his acclaimed Twio concept with the long-awaited release of Twio, Vol. 2, a set of classic jazz songs that exudes a playful sense of joyful freedom featuring a core trio of Smith, bassist Joe Sanders, and drummer Kendrick Scott, along with a pair of bucket-list guests: bassist Ron Carter and saxophonist Branford Marsalis.

“'In Common' conveys the shape and feel of traditional jazz while remaining harmonically untethered and melodically free... The best of both worlds.” — DownBeat Magazine

This album contains no booklet.