Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer.
Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musical training at the age of three.[1]
After graduating from Waukegan East High School, Smith attended Berklee,[2] graduating in 1981. Smith has recorded 200 albums with various artists, as well as two solo albums.[3] He belongs to the founding members of the M-Base collective, sharing the drummer's seat with Mark Johnson. He recorded and toured in different line-ups especially with Steve Coleman, with whom he also was part of the Dave Holland Quintet in the early 1980s. He has toured with, among others, Sting, Sonny Rollins, and Willie Nelson.[3] He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet,[1] and was the drummer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno band, led by Kevin Eubanks, from January 30, 1995[3] until the show's end on May 29, 2009. Smith was also the drummer for the Jay Leno Show band in 2009-10.[citation needed]