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*****1999 - 2009 : CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF**** **********THE DANIEL SMITH BLUES BAND************ A PERSONAL BIOG
Daniel Smith is described as the world's greatest Dutch-Indonesian-Anglo-Scottish blues and boogie woogie piano player - and it's probably true! He learnt boogie woogie from his Dutch-Indonesian uncle on regular visits to Holland, his mother's family having emigrated there post-War from Jakarta, Indonesia (where his maternal grandfather was also a jazz piano player.)
Daniel's Warrington-born father, the artist Bryan Smith, also inspired the young Daniel (having met Daniel's mother on an art scholarship in Amsterdam and moved with his young family to Dollar, Scotland) with his record collection of Fats Domino, Memphis Slim and Jerry Lee Lewis LPs.
Daniel then gave up piano for 8 years, as he left Scotland, studied languages, coached tennis, tried to become a pro-cricketer, trained as a teacher and taught overseas in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Egypt and Portugal.
He returned to the UK in 1994, since when he taught in London for 13 years, most recently as Head Of Special Needs in a large comprehensive before recently giving up teaching to concentrate more on his music and moving back to Scotland, where he now lives.

Back in 1994, on hearing a radio ad on Jazz FM, Daniel had to be forced to attend an audition for Sonny Black, whom he joined, thinking he wouldn't be good enough! Daniel has since not looked back and formed his own band in 1999, which is still going strong today. He has recorded seven albums, four of which are still available

MUSIC BIOG.
Daniel Smith is one of the most exciting talents to emerge on the British blues scene in recent years. In 1994, he first shot to prominence with Sonny Black, gaining rave reviews from press, audiences and fellow musicians alike. 1999 saw him launch his own solo career and form The Daniel Smith Blues Band.

Virtuoso live performances, his acclaimed debut album 'Southside Boogie' - re-released in 2006, BBC Radio sessions, several Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival appearances as well as appearances on the European festival circuit have earned him as string of nominations as Best UK Blues Keyboardist.

In 2002 he released the album "Dreamtime", also featuring BBC award-winning saxophonist Alan Barnes, to much acclaim and BBC radio play and launched on the New Note record label in April 2003. He has since recorded three more CDs, the band project 'Chicken and Egg' ("For small-combo jump blues, look no further." Blues Review, USA) as well as an acoustic collaboration with George Pearson,
'Sitting On Top Of The World' ("one of the best British blues albums I've heard." Red Lick Magazine) and his recent excellent and popular solo piano showcase, 'So Low Boogie'.Collaboration with the other side of the Atlantic is also testament to Daniel's talent, with some fantastic critical acclaim for his recordings in the USA blues press and tours with American artists old and new - Mojo Buford, ex-Muddy Waters harp man and latterly, Dave Specter, the dynamically impressive Chicago-based Delmark guitarist. These collaborations have lead to fulsome praise, comparisons with some of the American blues piano greats and invitations to play Stateside.As a solo artist and with The Daniel Smith Blues Band, Daniel mixes virtuoso driving barrelhouse boogie woogie with an authentic down-homeblues piano style, reflecting influences from Albert Ammons, Memphis Slim and Otis Spann through to Jools Holland. This is flavoured with refreshing and rhythmic Dr John/Professor Longhair-inspired New Orleans material and cool, classy Gene Harris/ Ramsey Lewis jazz-blues grooves; excellent original material and his soulful bluesy voice set him apart as an exceptional performer.He has a rare technical and musical ability to produce sustained and inspired keyboards work across the whole spectrum of the blues genre. Whether performing standards or his excellent original material, Daniel Smith is commonly recognised as an outstanding keyboards talent and a boogie woogie pianist without parallel.

Add to this his dry, laid-back, on-stage humour and an absolute killer band - (featuring some of Britain's finest, most experienced musicians) - and you have a class act invoking a genuine sense of the old-time, good-time barrelhouse and speakeasy.