NEJC Presents
Ethan Iverson + Walter Smith III
New England Jazz Collaborative presents pianist Ethan Iverson and saxophonist Walter Smith III in their first duo performance together. Iverson, co-founder of The Bad Plus, and Smith, Chair of Woodwinds at Berklee, are both Blue Note recording artists and major figures in contemporary jazz.
New England Jazz Collaborative is an artist-run nonprofit collective dedicated to commissioning, presenting and documenting new music by a diverse group of living composers, and to expanding the audience for jazz and related genres.
NEJC’s programs have been featured in The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine and on WBUR’s Morning Edition, and have received support from the National Park Service, Eastern Bank, Cambridge Community Foundation and Mass Cultural Council.
DATES AND TICKET INFO
Performance Schedule
July 31, 2026, at 7:00 PM
Buy Tickets
$33.55 In Advance
$38.70 Day of Show
Ethan Iverson
Ethan Iverson is best known as one-third of The Bad Plus, a game-changing collective with Reid Anderson and David King. The New York Times called TBP “…Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-’60s jazz and indie rock.” TBP has performed in venues as diverse as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, and Bonnaroo; and created a faithful arrangement of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and a radical reinvention of Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction (the latter with Tim Berne, Ron Miles, and Sam Newsome).
In addition to TBP, Iverson participates in the critically-acclaimed Billy Hart quartet with Mark Turner and Ben Street, and occasionally performs with an elder statesman like Albert “Tootie” Heath or Ron Carter. For a decade Iverson’s blog Do the Math has been a repository of musician-to-musician interviews and analysis, which is surely one reason Time Out New York selected Iverson as one of 25 essential New York jazz icons: “Perhaps NYC’s most thoughtful and passionate student of jazz tradition—the most admirable sort of artist-scholar.”
Walter Smith III
From an early age, Walter began taking music very seriously. “My first gig was playing at a McDonald's 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, return to casual, garnered critical acclaim from audiences and critics alike. “return to casual [is] Smith’s deeply poised first album as a leader for Blue Note... The whole enterprise rings of cool sophistication in a small-group style that Smith and his contemporaries helped define... In that sense, return to casual is not just a homecoming of sorts, but also an emphatic confirmation.” In September of 2024, Smith released his sophomore album for Blue Note Records, “three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not”, featuring a new offering of original music. In March of 2026, Smith reprises his acclaimed TWIO concept with the release of TWIO Vol. 2.
Smith has developed under the wings of many of the music’s greats. Walter is/has been a member of several influential groups (recording and/or touring), including the Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band, Terence Blanchard Quintet, Eric Harland's “Voyager”, Bill Stewart Trio, Jason Moran’s In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, the Christian McBride “Situation”, Marquis Hill “New Gospel Revisited”, Gerald Clayton Quintet, Christian Scott group, and the Sean Jones Quintet to name a few.
Smith has performed worldwide, participating in virtually every international festival and famed venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, and the Kennedy Center. In addition, he has shared the stage and/or appeared on recordings with many important artists including Mulgrew Miller, Billy Childs, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Lovano, Herbie Hancock, Maria Schneider, Ron Carter, Ralph Peterson, and a host of others. To date, Walter has appeared on over 100 recordings that have been released worldwide.
Originally from Houston, TX, Smith now resides in Boston, MA, and is Chair of Woodwinds at Berklee College of Music, helping to prepare the next generation of young artists.
This show has been made possible through the generosity of the Cambridge Community Foundation. We are extremely grateful for their partnership.