Smith Dobson Quartet

Smith Dobson Quartet at the Dawn Club is led by Santa Cruz–born drummer, vibraphonist, and saxophonist Smith Dobson V, a longtime Bay Area performer and a member of a notable jazz family. His father, the late pianist Smith Dobson IV, directed the jazz series at San Jose’s Garden City for over two decades, accompanying Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, and Lee Konitz among others; his mother Gail, sister Sasha, and grandmother Norma are all jazz vocalists, and his grandfather Smith III is a jazz accordionist. As a child he studied with drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who called him “my most talented student,” and he has since worked with Bobby Hutcherson, John Handy, Sheila Jordan, Red Holloway, Ben Goldberg, and Will Bernard.