Todd Smallie was born August 16, 1970 in St. Louis, MO, and began studying bass guitar at 13. After relocating to Atlanta, GA, he attended the Atlanta Institute of Music under the instruction of Russ Rodgers, Jimmy Herring and Randy Hoexter. There, he  immersed himself in jazz, rock, latin and country music.

He went on to play with many jazz and blues musicians in the Atlanta area, when in 1994 under the recommendation of Col. Bruce Hampton & Jeff Sipe, he became a member of the Derek Trucks Band.   He has been a long-standing member, playing with them now for over 16 years.

He has recorded 8 albums with DTB since joining, and has traveled around the world performing at some of the most prestigious festivals and theatres in the world.  He has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of the most influential and prolific musicians from all genres.

He won a Grammy with the Derek Trucks Band in February 2010 for  Best Contemporary Blues Album of the year for their album “Already Free”. The Derek Trucks Band has recently released “Roadsongs”, a live concert album from their 2009 Already Free tour.

This fall and winter, Todd will be on tour with JJ Grey and Mofro in support of their new album release, Georgia Warhorse, on Alligator Records.