Percussion ensemble The Forest will present a special performance honoring the vibrant legacy of legendary percussionist, composer, and M’Boom co-founder Warren Smith. Drawing on Smith’s 70-year career—a monumental journey that spanshistoric collaborations ranging from Max Roach, Tony Williams, Sam Rivers, and Gil Evans, to John Cage and Harry Partch, as well as Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Barbra Streisand, and Van Morrison—the cooperative quartet will perform a curated selection of his visionary percussion works, including A Composer’s Conversation and African Sketches.
To give audiences a multi-dimensional look into his creative process, the live performance will be accompanied by an exclusive video screening of Smith discussing his music and philosophy, followed by an interactive Q&A session. The event promises an immersive, educational, and deeply grooving tribute to one of American music’s most prolific and boundary-pushing artists.

Leah Bowden

Leah Bowden is a percussionist, bandleader, and scholar whose work is deeply intertwined with the legacy of American jazz percussion. Holding a Doctorate of Musical Arts from UC San Diego, she has extensively researched and championed diasporic percussion music, authoring Max Roach and M’Boom: Diasporic Soundings in American Percussion Music (2018). For the past decade she has collaborated directly with M’Boom co-founder Warren Smith on archival and performance initiatives, making her uniquely positioned to present his visionary work.

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