LOGAN – The legendary Larry Smith Kicks Band will “Go Latin” in its annual Spring Big Band Concert on Tuesday, Mar. 24 on the campus of Utah State University.
Sponsored by the USU Music Department in the Caine School of the Arts, that event is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall.
The free concert for USU students will feature musical compositions and arrangements by noted Latin musicians ranging from Bossa Nova to Cha Cha to Salsa.
Kicks Band leader Dr. Greg Wheeler explains that those composers/arrangers will include Antonia Carlos Jobim, Eric Richards, Mark Taylor, Bob Mintzer, Arturo Sandoval, Toto Puente, Ernesto Duarte, Carlo Walton and Duke Ellington/Claudio Roditi.
The “Goes Latin” night will also be something of a reunion for the family of the late Larry Smith, according to Wheeler.
Wheeler said that he has invited Larry’s son Ned Smith and grandson Neo Smith to sit-in with the Kicks Band on Mar. 24. Both are percussionists.
The “Goes Latin” night will also feature the talents of vocalists Monica and Naomi Fronk, who are Larry’s daughter and granddaughter.
Smith was a renowned teacher for 38 years at Utah State, instructing classes in musical composition, scoring, arrangement, improvisation, music theory and jazz. He also directed the university’s two jazz ensembles.
Following his retirement from USU, Smith founded the jazz band that carried his name, declaring that it was “just for kicks.” The ensemble includes USU faculty members and some of northern Utah’s best jazz musicians.
After Smith’s passing in February of 2025, direction of the Kicks Band fell to Wheeler, who explains that the band will maintain Smith’s tradition of highlighting different jazz conductors and musicians in each of its concerts.
Wheeler adds that the Kicks Band on “Goes Latin” night will include solists Nik Clark, Roger Karren, Skylar Harris, Kelin Gibbons, Jim Schaub, Danny Hankins, Jared Sounders, Brian Baird, Andrew Stronerock and many others.
All proceeds from the “Goes Latin” night will go to the Larry Smith Jazz Endowment at USU.
Tickets for Kicks Band concert for the general public can be obtained by going online to https://utahstateaggies.evenue.net/event/UM25/S12
The Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall is located in the Chase Fine Arts Center (FAC) on the USU campus.