Jazz Rosco isn’t just a band.

Jazz Rosco is more than one person, one group or one genre of music. It is a collaboration of world-class musicians brought together by the passion of keyboardist & producer Roger Smith. With elements of progressive jazz, Latin, funk, soul, and R&B, Jazz Rosco captures a one-of-a-kind blend of infectious grooves, mesmerizing solos, and a wide range of talents under one musical umbrella.

Smith, the masterful keyboardist of Tower of Power, started the collective with two goals - one, to honor a fellow veteran’s friendship through a shared love of music and two, to create one space for fabulous musicians to get their music heard.

Roger Smith was born to play the Hammond organ. From the time he was a child, Roger played piano and took music lessons and after an early musical education in church, he lost interest due to his creative freedom being suppressed. At that time, Roger and his family had moved from Texas to Sacramento, California. As fate would have it, a fellow 6th grader who lived down the street had an uncle whose occupation would change young Roger's musical tastes forever. That uncle was Philadelphia's Jimmy McGriff, a legendary jazz organist who during a visit introduced Roger to a sound that fascinated him: the Hammond B-3 organ. Jimmy McGriff taught him a couple of signature blues songs, "Down the Road a Piece" and "Little Red Rooster". Since that moment, the keyboard – and the Hammond organ in particular – became a central figure in Roger's life. He counts himself fortunate to have been able to work with incredible artists such as Gladys KnightI, Jeff Beck, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dave Coz, Dave Matthews Band, Poncho Sanchez, Bud Shanks, Shorty Rogers, Joe Farrell and more, and has worked with the renowned Tower of Power since 1998.

While he continues his work with Tower, Roger has expanded his work into the creation of Jazz Rosco. Hailing from diverse corners of the musical universe, Jazz Rosco’s rotating group of exceptional artists have received countless accolades including Billboard chart hits and Grammy wins, and have worked with some of the biggest artists in the game. Just a few of the notable names of Jazz Rosco include fellow Tower of Power musicians David Garibaldi, Adolfo Acosta, Tom Politzer, and Marcus Scott, as well as Prince and Sheila E. saxophonist Eddie “M” Mininfield, iconic vocal group The Temptations, former Santana vocalist Tony Lindsay and eight-time Grammy winner and Carlos Santana’s percussionist Karl Perazzo, and many, many more. \Following the release of Rosco’s Place (2004) and Rosco’s Place 2 (2010), Smith is working with all musicians in the Jazz Rosco family to release numerous new singles in 2024, all independently released. Smith wants to keep everything in the artist’s pocket and simply be the vehicle to get their music heard.