About Me

My relationship with music began at age seven at Preservation Hall, where I would go daily with my sister to listen to trumpeter John Simmons. This is the same venue where I've been leading my own band, the Will Smith Preservation Legacy Band, for years. A regular in bands such as Harold Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, Treme Brass Band, Doc Paulin, The New Birth Brass Band, Palmetto Bug Stompers, The Storyville Stompers, and Pinstripe Brass Band, I has toured worldwide with all of them, performing in several recordings.

Will Smith is well known in New Orleans jazz scene. He grew up surrounded by the musicians who shaped the musical identity of this city, from whom he learned and who continue to be his main source of inspiration. His style evokes great figures of the genre, such as Louis Armstrong, Sing Miller, Sweet Emma Barrett, and Alvin Alcorn. He began playing in The Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band, led by renowned guitarist Danny Barker, which produced musicians such as Leroy Jones, Dr. Michael White, and Shannon Powell. He later formed The Chosen Few with the legendary Tuba Fats.