How does it feel to have this honor?

It’s really crazy. Wow, I know I should be ready for these kinds of questions because I figured you would ask me how it feels, but it’s kind of surreal. I had such a difficult time during high school. I missed 48 days of school my senior year, primarily because I couldn’t get to school. I didn’t have money, tokens, or anything, and I worked at night. It was very hard. I did not pass math, which was devastating. It meant I couldn’t walk and had to go to summer school. But that’s the reason this is so surreal, it was such a challenging part of my life, but an amazing time as well.

This is the kind of stuff that’s in a lot of fairy tales. I would have never imagined that my likeness or any part of me would be on the side of my dang high school. Never, not one day.

How was Girls’ High?

Girls’ High was beautiful. We had perfect pink marble hallways, and walking down those hallways felt like triumph every day. There were so many brilliant young women, and so many friends I have till this day. It was an extraordinary time for me, I just wish I didn’t have the troubles I had at the time.

What do you remember the most from those days? Any particular teachers?

I have a lot of fond memories, the only problem was we didn’t have any money. But yes, I had Mr. William Murphy, the leader of Treble Clef. You had to audition to be in the Treble Clef Choir, and it taught us Latin, German, and Italian songs. He played amazing music, and took us to the Academy of Music. That’s where I first heard and saw Kathleen Battle. I never heard someone sing so lovely and smile so pretty at the same time.

You grew up here. How did the city make you who you are?

People ask me the question all the time: What makes Philadelphia vocalists? I think it’s the Schuylkill punch, and the fact most of the musicians are coming out of church. I think it’s institutions like the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and Treble Clef at Girls’ High. I think all these accumulate to make Philly’s musicians, vocalists, and artists great.

And what about the city’s murals?

I grew up looking at murals my whole life, on every other corner. Murals have been an inspiration just by seeing all those beautiful colors. There was a lot going on in the city of Philadelphia. [But] the murals were uplifting, with beautiful quotes and the faces of people we admired. I’ve always appreciated that.

And the Philly arts community? Does its future excite you?

Of course. I think I’ve touched pretty much every portion of it in the course of my lifetime. All the wonderful time I’ve had performing live, whether it was poetry or singing somewhere. There were so many places, and some of them aren’t here anymore, but they are integral to everything that I am and everything that I’ve done. And oh, the block parties. I used to go to so many block parties. All those things made me who I am.

Can we get a glimpse into your Roots Picnic performance on Saturday? Or do you want to keep everything secret?

I’ll keep it a secret. Just know that I’m thrilled and very excited. I had a wonderful time performing at the Met for the 23rd anniversary of Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 last year. I loved that people walked out singing in the streets. It felt so good.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

For jazz musician Miles Smith, the poignant sounds of classical strings and soothing tunes from the likes of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and other legends of the genre echoed through his home.

There was never a moment of dullness, Smith, 21, said. Every morning, his ears were filled with the reverberating sounds of trumpets, saxophones and piano keys, with jazz seemingly becoming an inescapable fix.

And with both his parents dedicated musicians and music professors at Ohio State University, the Fort Collins, Colorado native — who moved to Columbus at age 12 —said his culmination as an instrumentalist was a near formality.

"I like to joke that I was either going to become a musician or be disowned by my parents," Smith said jokingly.

Named after American trumpeter Miles Davis, Smith, now a Dublin resident, picked up the drums at age 3 before switching to the trumpet in sixth grade. From there, "jazz was an earworm that never left his body," Smith said.

"That was the turning point," he said. "I pick up the trumpet in sixth grade and think, 'Maybe this will work.' I picked it up, notes started coming out, it was feeling pretty good."

Instead, his affinity for jazz music soaked deep within him, becoming a sequential part of his every day. And while many his age gravitated to other popular R&B and hip-hop artists, he leaned toward the genre that got its start in the backwaters of New Orleans.

"It's something to be prideful about," he said. "With jazz becoming a lost art, but still very present even in 2021, is something I'm very proud of. It found its way to me, and jazz music just felt right."

An affinity for teaching

Now, Smith is a member of the OSU Jazz Emsemble and the OSU Fusion Jazz Ensemble, led by his father Mike Smith.

As he held a picture of a younger Miles Smith resting in his arms as he conducted a band, Mike, 61, looks at his son's artistic growth in awe.

“He has an absolutely amazing ear," Mike said. "He can hear (the sounds) and spit them out. He formed an intimate relationship with the trumpet. He could figure them out and play them out.”
Mike, a lecturer and jazz professor at OSU, said even during those early stages, he knew Miles would morph into an incredible artist.

That never shocked him. What surprised him is Smith's affinity for teaching, a role he vowed he’d never do.

“I'm thrilled by it," Mike said. "I really am.

"Me and his mom laugh at it because they seemed to do anything but teach. Both of them have found they excel at it. It’s funny but it's heartwarming to see it happen. I hear him giving lessons on Zoom to people and I marvel at how good he is at that.”

Between his commitments at OSU, Smith works as an instructor at various Columbus-area schools and previously held teaching stints at the Lincoln Theatre, a place he frequented often as he built up his own command of the leadpipe.

Smith's influence on local musicians

Gamal Brown, associate director of The Lincoln Theatre, said Smith’s involvement there has been an incredible addition and has provided assistance toward to developing local musicians through practice and education.

“I'd love to see organizations use (Smith) as the poster child for what jazz is in the city," Brown, 49, said. "They would benefit from him as a source,"

Smith said he works as an instructor to inspire other young, Black kids to embrace their inner musician, just as his professors and mentors did for him.

Along with his parents’ influence, Smith credits the mentor-to-mentee relationships he’s developed with famed musicians and former professors for his musical maturation.

Having met and briefly instructed Smith when he attended OSU, Jon Lampley, 32, said he had the talent from the start.

‘He had talent from the start’

Lampley, who currently plays with the house band of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," quickly recognized Smith's desire to be great in the time they spent together.

From listening to Smith, Lampley said he knew he had the tools to be a great musician.

"I gravitate towards people who are inspiring and uplifting, and to be able to have a direct line of inspiration at an early point is really cool," he said. "I'm excited to see how Smith progresses, and hopefully, we can make some music in the not-so-distant future."

Anthony Stanco, 32, Smith's former trumpet professor at OSU, said the young musician's budding talents are only surpassed by his dedication to the craft.

"I've always been blown away from his talent," said Stanco, who currently works as a professor at Michigan State University. " To play this music, you have to be around the culture, and Smith does that."

From transcribing the solos of Miles Davis and fellow trumpeter Clifford Brown, Stanco said given Smith's love of the genre, the sky is the limit.

"If you take care of the music, the music will take care of you," he said. "That is huge, and I don't see him having a national name as a far stretch. As his previous instructor, I'm going to help as much as I can."

As his young musical career marches forward, Smith said there are many things he wants to pursue. While grad school is a possibility, he's thought about a full-time role at the Jazz Arts Group or the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and, more recently, teaching on the collegiate level like his two parents.

But above all, Smith said he wants to reach the heights of Lampley and others who have inspired him.

Jill Scott is ‘really tickled’ to be featured in a new mural at her alma mater, Girls’ High