Scots saxophonist Tommy Smith returns to his and some other jazz roots with his new album Karma as well as paradoxically making a perhaps inadvertently radical statement. He tours the music in Scotland in late June and later elsewhere (see below).
"Visceral precision and imaginative interplay"
Karma, Spartacus ***** Tommy Smith’s new quartet includes pianist/keyboardist Steve Hamilton and drummer Alyn Cosker off his 2005 Forbidden Fruit album, but this no less brilliant successor is very different. New is Kevin Glasgow on six-string electric bass, and the lingua franca has become an amalgam of Scottish, Irish and Arab folk elements spiced with […]
'Karma' review in The Guardian (4 stars)
Scottish saxophonist Smith, a teenage prodigy in the 80s, is nowadays one of the most widely respected of European jazz musicians – not just for his sax mastery, but for his influence on his homeland’s jazz culture through the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and its youth wing he founded and still runs. Smith can play […]
KARMA
Hailed on arrival by critics as the toughest and most creative group of his career, Tommy Smith’s KARMA sees the brilliant Scottish saxophonist lead a band of virtuosic musicians on a deeply grooving acid jazz adventure that draws on influences from around the world.
The Christmas Album
featuring Tommy Smith (tenor saxophone), Gareth Williams (piano), Orlando Le Fleming (bass), Sebastiaan De Krom (drums) Winter Wonderland God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen Auld Land Syne I’ll Be Home For Christmas The Holy & The Ivy Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas We Three Kings The Christmas Song Reviews John Fordham (The Guardian) — This […]
Into Silence
featuring Tommy Smith (tenor & soprano saxophones & bells) The Scream Oran Na Politician Naima Libra Capella Ad Te Levavi Deneb My Romance Orion Aquila Phoenix Tibi, Christe, Splendor Patris Cassiopedia My One & Only Love Perseus Ursa Minor ‘S Ann Aig Posrt Taigh N H-Airigh Cetus Lynx Indus Vela Gradual Draco Alleluia Collect [audio:http://tommysmith.scot/ts/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/IntoSilence_03_naima.mp3|titles=Tommy […]
Bezique
featuring Brian Kellock (piano), Tommy Smith (tenor Saxophone) Bud Powell Very Early Never Let Me Go Come Rain Or Come Shine The Thrill Is Gone Ladies In Mercedes Don’t You Know I Care Parker 51 Lush Life Reviews Kenny Mathieson (The Scotsman) ***** — “SCOTLAND’S two leading jazz musicians convened for this duo performance at […]
Evolution
featuring Tommy Smith (tenor saxophone), Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone), John Scofield (guitar), John Taylor (piano), John Patittucci (bass), Bill Stewart (drums) Woodstock Easter Island Lisbon Earthquake Siege Of Leningrad Sputnik’s Tale On The Way To Barnard’s Star [audio:http://tommysmith.scot/ts/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Evolution_03_lisbonearthquake1.mp3|titles=Tommy Smith – Evolution – Lisbon Earthquake]
Exploration
with the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra featuring Rachael Cohen (alto, soprano saxophone), Adam Jackson (alto saxophone), Ben Bryden (tenor saxophone), Joseph Wright (tenor saxophone), John Fleming (tenor saxophone), Bill Fleming (baritone saxophone), Ryan Quigley (trumpet), Tom MacNiven (trumpet), Kim Macari (trumpet), Liam Heath (trumpet), Michael Campbell (trombone), Kieran McLeod (trombone), Patrick Kenny (trombone), Richard […]
Rhapsody In Blue
with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra featuring Martin Kershaw (Clarinet, alto sax), Paul Towndrow (Alto sax), Tommy Smith (Tenor Sax), Konrad Wiszniewski (Tenor sax), Bill Fleming (Baritone sax), Ryan Quigley (Trumpet), Paul Newton (Trumpet), Tom MacNiven (Trumpet), Linsey McDonald (Trumpet), Chris Greive (Trombones), Michael Campbell (Trombones), Michael Owers (Trombones), Lorna McDonald (Bass trombone), Graeme Scott […]