After an eight-year pause from recording, pianist and composer Enoch Smith Jr. is back with The Book of Enoch, Vol. 1, due out November 7 on his Misfitme Music label. The album finds Smith and his long-running trio—Kai Gibson (bass) and David Hardy (drums)—breathing new life into gospel classics with a joyful blend of blues, swing, and soulful straight-ahead jazz.
This is Smith’s sixth recording, but it carries a particular sense of renewal. Drawn from his work at the Jazz Vespers services at Allentown Presbyterian Church (APC) in New Jersey, the album’s seven tracks reimagine familiar hymns with groove, grace, and a spirit of celebration.
Take his buoyant arrangement of Andrae Crouch’s “Soon and Very Soon”, brimming with optimism, or “Gracefully,” his luminous adaptation of “Amazing Grace”. The trio’s take on “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” is full of swing, colored with a surprising Afro-Latin flair. Yet the music also has a reflective side: “Holy City” unfolds with quiet majesty, while “Christ Is All” and “A Quiet Place” radiate calm assurance. The album closes with “Mitch’s Moves,” both celebratory and contemplative, tying together Smith’s dual gifts for joy and introspection.
Smith, Gibson, and Hardy recorded the album in one full take—just as they perform it in church—capturing spontaneity, trust, and the sense of uplift that has always defined their collaboration.
For Smith, this project isn’t about chasing a scene but about offering something meaningful. “I’ve just always loved creating music,” he reflects. “I’m hoping to just add something to this beautiful landscape.”
Born in Rochester, NY, and raised in the church, Smith’s musical journey has taken him from singing in children’s choir to teaching himself piano at 14, to graduating from Berklee College of Music. His previous albums, from 2010’s Church Boy through 2018’s To Houston, With Love, have all traced the fertile meeting place of gospel and jazz.
In recent years, Smith has been rooted in Allentown, NJ—raising a family, teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu to underprivileged kids, and shaping worship through music at APC. The encouragement he received for his jazz-gospel hymn arrangements ultimately inspired this latest album.
With The Book of Enoch, Vol. 1, Smith reminds us of gospel’s enduring vitality—and how deeply it can swing when placed in the hands of a trio that plays with faith, fire, and heart.
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