For the past thirty years, Dr. Gene Smith has been recognized as one of the country’s leading jazz educators. A versatile saxophonist, woodwind specialist, and composer, he has accompanied artists such as Stevie Wonder, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Bobby Rydell, and Vic Damone. He has also performed and recorded with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and the New World Symphony. As a conductor, Gene directed the Down Beat award-winning North Texas Three O’Clock Lab Band and the Miami GRAMMY® High School Jazz Band. As an educator, Dr. Smith is currently Coordinator of Jazz Studies/Associate Professor of Saxophone at Jackson State University and has held previous positions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and City Colleges of Chicago. In addition, Gene also serves on the Executive Committee of the North American Saxophone Alliance and on the board of directors of the ETA Creative Arts Foundation. Dr. Smith hold degrees in jazz studies from the University of Miami, Howard University, and the University of North Texas. His debut recording of the Gene Smith Orchestra is in pre-production.