Jubu Smith in Cincinnati

John "Jubu" Smith has spent more than four decades as one of R&B's most in-demand sidemen rather than a headline name, and that resume is the draw. Raised in an Oakland gospel quartet led by his father, he started on harmony vocals before moving to bass and then guitar, eventually joining the Oakland R&B band Tony! Toni! Tone! as a teenager. From there his guitar work turned up behind Luther Vandross, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, and George Benson, plus a stretch touring with Whitney Houston. For the past decade and a half he has toured internationally with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, one of soul music's most enduring live acts. A Cincinnati date under his own name gives local audiences a rarer chance to hear that career filtered through his own songs and arrangements rather than someone else's spotlight -- a set shaped by soul, gospel, and funk guitar traditions from a player other musicians have leaned on for a generation.