Richard Smith is an English fingerstyle guitarist, born in 1971 in Beckenham, England, and now based in the United States. He performs as part of The Richard Smith Guitar Trio. He is associated with smooth jazz, jazz guitar and jazz fusion, and he is also described as a guitarist with a relatively small listener base.

Background

Smith starts learning guitar at the age of five. He develops early as a child prodigy and is strongly shaped by his father’s taste in country guitar, especially the picking styles of Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. He absorbs music quickly and is said to be able to learn pieces after hearing them once.

Early recognition

At eleven, Smith meets Chet Atkins, his main guitar hero, and is invited to play with him on stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London before an audience of about a thousand people. He performs Atkins’s arrangement of “Whispering” with Atkins accompanying him. By his early twenties, both Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed refer to Smith as their “Hero”.

Musical range

Alongside guitar, Smith is an accomplished banjo and violin player. His touring repertoire spans country, bluegrass, mainstream jazz, modern pop, rock and classical guitar. He also plays several marches by John Philip Sousa and is said to create an effect close to a full marching band, including percussion.

Career and style

Smith tours internationally and is known for technical guitar playing and a broad repertoire drawn from multiple styles, with roots in country picking and fingerstyle guitar. He later lives in Nashville.