session player

He was a session player for dozens of top artists, from Bowie and Taylor to the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder, and made more than 20 solo albums, including the Grammy winners “Straight to the Heart” and “Double Vision.”

He was also a prolific session player, working with artists like Seal, Maxwell and Raphael Saadiq.

The esteemed session player and drumslinger-for-hire came up with Orange County punks the Vandals and logged time with everyone from Guns N’ Roses to new wave greats Devo, who play the Paramount Theatre on Nov. 7.

His Brooklyn studio, Figure 8, remains an affordable and inclusive hub for experimental musicians, even as Ismaily becomes a marquee session player.

Mr. Smith also became a regular session player at J&M, the recording studio owned by Cosimo Matassa, where the sound of classic New Orleans R&B was forged.