From an early age, Walter began taking music very seriously. “My first gig was playing at a McDonalds in Houston with another saxophone player. I took a solo on “Blue Bossa.” It was terrible. People clapped, and I figured if I could get away with that and get applause, how could I fail?”
Although it may appear Smith is a new voice on the scene, he is widely recognized as an adept performer, accomplished composer, and inspired educator. Smith’s recent release, In Common III, has been described as “boundary pushing”, and features some of the most important and talked about musicians in the world – Matt Stevens, Kris Davis, Dave Holland and Terri Lyne Carrington. In April of 2023, Smith released his debut album for Blue Note records,“return to casual”, to critical acclaim.