Ches Smith

Ches Smith is an American musician, whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone.

He recorded and performed an album of his own solo percussion pieces entitled Congs for Brums (2006). In 2010 he released Noise to Men.

Biography
Smith was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Sacramento. After studying philosophy at the University of Oregon, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995. He studied composition, improvisation and percussion with Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, William Winant and Alvin Curran. In 1999, he toured with Mr. Bungle.

As leader/co-leader

 * 2006 – Congs for Brums (Free Porcupine Society)
 * 2010 – Noise to Men (Self Released)
 * 2010 – Finally Out of My Hands (Skirl)
 * 2012 – Psycho Predictions (88)
 * 2013 – Hammered (Clean Feed)
 * 2014 – International Hoohah (ForTune)
 * 2016 – The Bell (ECM)
 * 2018 – A Complete and Tonal Disaster (Self Released)
 * 2021 – Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic)
 * 2022 – Interpret It Well (Pyroclastic)
 * 2024 – Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic)

As sideman

 * with Tim Berne
 * 2012 – Snakeoil (ECM)
 * 2013 – Shadow Man (ECM)
 * 2015 – You've Been Watching Me (ECM)
 * 2015 – Spare (Screwgun)
 * 2017 – Incidentals (ECM)
 * 2020 – The Fantastic Mrs. 10 (Intakt)
 * 2020 – The Deceptive 4 (Live) (Intakt)
 * 2022 - Decay (Screwgun)


 * with Trevor Dunn's trio-convulsant
 * 2004 – Sister Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac)


 * with Moe! Staiano
 * 2001 – The Lateness of Yearly Presentations


 * with Moe! Staiano's Moe!kestra!
 * 2006 – An Inescapable Siren Within Earshot Distance Therein and Other Whereabouts
 * 2007 – Two Rooms of Uranium Inside 83 Markers


 * with Graham Connah
 * 2001 – The Only Song We Know


 * with Good For Cows
 * 2001 – Good for Cows
 * 2003 – Cows Less Than or Equal To
 * 2004 – Bebop Fantasy
 * 2008 – 10th Concert Anniversary
 * 2010 – Audumla


 * with Theory Of Ruin
 * 2002 – Counter–Culture Nosebleed
 * 2003 – Frontline Posterchild


 * with Mitch Marcus Quintet
 * 2002 – Entropious


 * with Lou Harrison
 * 2003 – Drums Along the Pacific


 * with John Zorn
 * 2003 – Voices in the Wilderness (Tzadik)
 * 2016 – The Painted Bird (Tzadik)
 * 2018 – The Urmuz Epigrams (Tzadik)
 * 2018 – In a Convex Mirror (Tzadik)
 * 2020 – Les Maudits (Tzadik)
 * 2021 – Heaven and Earth Magick (Tzadik)
 * 2022 – Incerto (Tzadik)
 * 2022 – Suite For Piano (Tzadik)


 * with Xiu Xiu
 * 2002 – Knife Play with Greg Saunier
 * 2003 – A Promise
 * 2005 – La Foret
 * 2007 – Remixed and Covered as Good for Cows
 * 2008 – Women as Lovers
 * 2010 – Dear God I Hate Myself
 * 2012 – Always
 * 2013 – Nina


 * with David Torn
 * 2019 – Sun Of Goldfinger (ECM)
 * 2020 – Sun Of Goldfinger (Congratulations to You) (Screwgun)
 * 2022 - Ozmir (Screwgun)


 * with Secret Chiefs 3
 * 2004 – Book of Horizons
 * 2008 – Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9
 * 2013 – Book of Souls: Folio A
 * 2019 – The Book Beri'ah Vol 10—Malkhut


 * with Aaron Novik
 * 2004 – Gubbish: Notations in Tonations
 * 2006 – Kipple: Flashes of Irrational Happiness


 * with Redressers
 * 2004 – To Each According...


 * with Carla Bozulich/Evangelista
 * 2009 – Prince of Truth
 * 2011 – In Animal Tongue
 * 2014 – I'm Gonna Stop Killing


 * with Will Bernard Trio
 * 2005 – Directions to My House


 * with Fever Pitch
 * 2005 – Just Drums 2 Project


 * with Sean Hayes
 * 2006 – Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star


 * with Todd Sickafoose
 * 2006 – Blood Orange


 * with Ben Goldberg Quintet
 * 2006 – The Door, the Hat, the Chair, the Fact


 * with 7 Year Rabbit Cycle
 * 2006 – Ache Horns


 * with Fred Frith, Darren Johnston, Devin Hoff and Larry Ochs
 * 2007 – Reason to Move


 * with Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
 * 2008 – Party Intellectuals
 * 2013 – Your Turn
 * 2018 – YRU Still Here?
 * 2020 - What I Did On My Long 'Vacation'
 * 2021 - Hope
 * 2023 - Connection


 * with Leonid Fedorov, Vladimir Volkov, John Medeski, Marc Ribot
 * 2010 – RazinRimILev


 * with Dave Holland
 * 2018 – Uncharted Territories


 * with Moonface
 * 2018 – This One's for the Dancer & This One's for the Dancer's Bouquet