Catch smoker right next to musician (8)
I believe the answer is:
bagpiper
'to musician' is the definition.
(bagpiper is a kind of musician)
'catch smoker right' is the wordplay.
'catch' becomes 'bag' (synonyms).
'smoker' becomes 'pipe'.
'right' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'bag'+'pipe'+'r'='BAGPIPER'
'next' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bagpiper that I've seen before include "Player of traditional Scottish musical instrument" , "Scots musician" , "Wind musician" , "(Scottish) musician" , "Pibroch player" .)