Experimental jazz guitarist Ian Smit will release his new album ¿QUÉ? on December 5, 2025, featuring an extraordinary ensemble of David Torn on electric and national steel guitar, Tom Rainey on drums, and Scott Petito on acoustic and electric bass, who also served as recording engineer.
The album was created almost entirely in the moment. Smit’s only guiding principle for the session was to keep the music conversational, full of dynamic ups and downs that felt natural to the players. Apart from two tracks that began as loose harmonic sketches—“Bee Still” and “Raindrops and Waterspouts”—everything was fully improvised as soon as the studio light turned red. The intention was never to perform written compositions but instead to shape spontaneous ones through interaction, whether with melody, groove, sound interventions, or silence.
Smit has known David Torn for decades. Torn produced his very first professional recording, Ping, back in 1987 with Scott Petito also involved, though that album was only released on cassette. Years later, a chance session with a friend brought Smit back into Petito’s orbit, this time as mixing and mastering engineer. The atmosphere in the studio left such a strong impression that Smit knew he wanted Petito to not only engineer but also play bass on this project. Choosing Tom Rainey was just as clear. After hearing him perform with Torn over the years, Smit considered him the perfect drummer for the session. “Tom was definitely number one on the list,” Smit recalls. “This recording would not have come to fruition if Tom wasn't available.”
The session took place at Petito’s NRS Recording Studio in Catskill, NY, on April 28, 2025. Smit, Torn, and Rainey played together in the same room with only gobo panels between them, allowing for intentional feedback and interaction, while Petito tracked bass separately depending on whether he was on acoustic or electric. When Smit played acoustic guitar, Torn switched to electric, and when Torn played national steel, Smit picked up electric. In the final mix, Smit’s guitar can be heard on the left, with his effects amp sometimes placed near the center, while Torn’s guitars occupy the right side of the stereo spectrum.
Though it was the first time Rainey and Petito ever performed together, and the first time Smit had played with any of the three, the chemistry was undeniable. “Scott and David hadn’t played together in decades, and when they did back in 1987, it was only overdubs. I was the true newcomer here. Was all that risky? Evidently not,” Smit laughs. “I was riding on a rocket ship!”
The album’s track list reflects its playful and exploratory spirit, from the spacious opener “Bee Still” to titles like “A Quiet Cafe Until It’s Not,” “Barker de la Carnivale,” and “Wizard of Wut.” Cover art was designed by Stephen Byram.
The musicians behind ¿QUÉ? each bring remarkable histories. Bassist, composer, and producer Scott Petito has appeared on more than 1,000 recordings across genres, working with artists such as James Taylor, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Pete Seeger, and Sting. He is a long-time member of the Fugs and the Blues Project, and leads bands such as Modern Times and the Trio ELP. His acclaimed solo albums include Rainbow Gravity, Many Worlds, and the solo bass project Sbass Music.
Drummer Tom Rainey, born in Pasadena in 1957, has been a key voice in New York’s creative music scene since 1979. He has performed with John Abercrombie, Tim Berne, Jane Ira Bloom, Nels Cline, Anthony Braxton, Joe Lovano, and many others. He currently leads the Tom Rainey Trio as well as the quintet Obbligato, while continuing to collaborate widely.
As for Ian Smit, he describes himself as a composer, guitarist, melodist, and noise maker, unbound by genre. His projects over the decades include Monkeyworks, Savage & Smit, e’fessioux, So It Goes, and collaborations with Brian Kastan, Chris Koch, and QWERT. His first professional outing, Ping, was produced by Torn in 1987, and he has continued to create art on his own terms ever since.
David Torn, also known as “splattercell,” is a guitarist, composer, producer, and sound innovator of international stature. His influential career spans solo work, film scoring, and collaborations with artists such as David Bowie, k.d. lang, Madonna, Tori Amos, John Legend, Tim Berne, Bill Bruford, and Meshell Ndegeocello. His solo release Only Sky was described by the New York Times as “[an abstract landscape that is] both immersive and deftly disorienting,” and he continues to work across genres, including with his group Sun of Goldfinger.
With such a lineup, ¿QUÉ? captures the thrill of risk, trust, and discovery, offering listeners a rare window into music made with no script, only ears and instincts. As Smit sums it up: “Play because you love it, and maybe good things might come your way if you're lucky enough to see and latch on to them—like playing with a bunch of truly exceptional ringer nice guys like David, Tom, and Scott.”
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