Schmit to bring 4 decades of music to Newton

NEWTON — Timothy B Schmit, legendary Eagle and former member of Poco, will bring four decades of music to The Newton Theatre on Saturday, May 13, at 8 p.m.
It’s been seven years since Timothy B Schmit released his last album. The standard opening question is: “Why did it take so long?” The standard Schmit answer to most questions is funny in a self-deprecating way and rooted in simple truths. So of course he answers, “I wasn’t ready until now.”
Patience is a virtue. And with a career that unfolds back to the halcyon 1960s, patience has served this storied artist well. He was in his teens when he charted for the first time. At the turn of the decade he joined Poco and helped steer the band into its pioneering fusions of country, rock and folk. In 1977 he became a member of the legendary Eagles, an association that would continue on and off for decades.
At the same time, Schmit also collaborated with other artists. His talents enhanced Toto’s Africa, Richard Marx’s Don’t Mean Nothin’, Bob Seger’s Fire Lake, Crosby Stills and Nash’s Wasted On The Way and multiple tracks by Steely Dan. He’s played internationally as a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.
All the while Schmit absorbed what he played and heard, weaving it strand by strand into his musical fabric. Now and then he stepped out with a solo album. His last release, Expando, dropped in 2009 and triggered praise from the media.
Then he settled back into his busy routine, appearing on recordings with artists as diverse as Wynonna Judd, Diana Krall and The Blind Boys of Alabama. But he also kept listening, writing, filing ideas and edging closer to his next individual project.
Illuminated by an array of fine musicians and singers, Leap of Faith released in 2016, with a strong mix of rock, country, Americana, R&B and even a bit of reggae, plays like a multicolored corona around Schmit’s distinctive artistry. From the jaunty opening track My Hat to the soaring harmonies and heartfelt reflections of This Waltz, this is more than another album in a great artist’s catalog. It is a milestone effort, looking back at all that brought him to where he stands today and ahead to a future full of both mystery and promise.
Leap of Faith marks the culmination of Schmit’s unhurried, yet inspired reflections of life. For all their diversity, these songs are bound by a candor and craftsmanship that are rare in today’s music. SCHMIT says, “I don’t feel confined by any outside perceptions about what I do. I just try to pull songs out of the ethers and shape them as they come, whatever the genre.”
“Over the last ten years or so, I’ve felt like I’m finally getting the hang what it is I do best,” Schmit sums up with his knack for wry understatement. “Although this project took some time to complete, this is what I came up with … This is who I am. This is a Leap of Faith.”
Tickets for Timothy B Schmit range from $34 to $59. Purchase tickets by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contact the Box Office at 973-383-3700.