Toby Grafftey-Smith (29 October 1970 – 11 April 2017), known professionally as Toby Smith, was an English

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, most famous for being the

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...

and co-songwriter for

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in t ...

from 1992 until his departure in 2002.

Background and personal life

Son of John Jeremy ("Jinx") Grafftey-Smith, a merchant banker, and his wife Lucy, Smith was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, where he developed his musical skills. His grandfather, Sir

Laurence Grafftey-Smith Sir Laurence Barton Grafftey-Smith (16 April 1892 – 3 January 1989) was a member of the British Consular Service from 1916 to 1947. His grandson was musician Toby Smith. Early life Born to parents Revd. Arthur Grafftey-Smith and Mabel Grafftey- ...

, was a diplomat who served as High Commissioner for the U.K. in Pakistan from 1947 to 1951 and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1945 to 1947. Smith was married to Gabriella, daughter of David Offley Crewe-Read; they had three children.

Career

While

Jay Kay Jay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai, which was formed in 1992. Early life Jay Kay was bor ...

was forming Jamiroquai, he was encouraged by his manager to enlist Smith. Kay, Jason (March 2013). ''Emergency On Planet Earth'' 20th anniversary reissue booklet –

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Having been with the band since 1992, Smith left Jamiroquai on 29 April 2002 during the Funk Odyssey tour due to family commitments. He was the

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and manager for the English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band

The Hoosiers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

. Smith produced the 2009 album '' Caught In The Headlights'' for the British band

Absent Elk Absent Elk are a British pop rock band who formed in 2008. They have released two singles to date, and released their first album in October 2009. Their cover version of Girls Aloud's "The Loving Kind", which was posted on YouTube, became a small ...

. In 2013, he co-produced

Matt Cardle Matthew Sheridan Cardle (born 15 April 1983) is an English pop singer. He was born in Southampton and grew up in Halstead, Essex. Cardle has been involved in music since his early teens and has been a member of two different bands; Darwyn and ...

's third album, ''

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

'', as well as providing writing contributions to several songs. He owned Angelic Recording Studios based near

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

. Smith died on 11 April 2017, having been diagnosed with cancer six years earlier. He was 46 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Toby 1970 births 2017 deaths Musicians from London English male songwriters English keyboardists Jamiroquai members Place of death missing English funk musicians Acid jazz musicians Grammy Award winners People educated at Marlborough College