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Tommy Smith & Peter Johnstone
Smith really is a modern master of the tenor sax
Johnstone was particularly spectacular, keeping up a complex bass figure with his left hand while his right hand played a beautiful Middle Eastern melody.
Jazz
Instrumentation
- Tommy Smith OBE - Saxophone
- Peter Johnstone - Piano
Repertoire
Jazz classics from Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn and Stan Getz & Bill Evans and pieces by more recent heroes including Chick Corea and Michael Brecker feature alongside original compositions by Tommy Smith himself and melodies from various folk traditions. Concert programmes are often chosen spontaneously but the quality and variety of pace, including both uptempo, energetic pieces and more serene ballads, remain consistent.
Biography
As audiences at events including Rochester Jazz Festival in New York and Buxton International Festival can attest, Tommy Smith & Peter Johnstone represent two generations of Scottish jazz mastery in world class performances.
Smith is one of the world's leading saxophonists. A presence on the international jazz scene since his teenage years, when he toured the world with vibes virtuoso Gary Burton's quintet, Smith has gone to record with the definitive jazz label, Blue Note and work with myriad jazz greats including Chick Corea, John Scofield, Randy Brecker, Dame Cleo Laine and Jack DeJohnette.
His compositions and soloist work extend to the symphonic arena, with albums including Modern Jacobite, recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and as its founding director he has built the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra into an internationally regarded, award-winning big band. This ensemble's collaborations now range from tributes to Frank Sinatra, with American singing star Kurt Elling, to new music for jazz soloists, traditional musicians and Japanese taiko drummers.
Tommy's touring and recording commitments also include Norwegian double bass master Arild Anderson's trio, which records for the prestigious ECM label and is widely regarded as one of the leading groups working in jazz today. His own group, the Tommy Smith Quartet: Embodying the Light, has received ecstatic responses for its programmes dedicated to Smith’s greatest influence, jazz legend John Coltrane.
The quartet’s pianist, Peter Johnstone has become an inspiration to Smith, providing the drive of rhythm section and almost orchestral colour in his accompaniments. A former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year, Peter is the first student on the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s internationally admired jazz course to return as a teacher. He leads his own trio and features extensively with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, in the organ trio Prime and with saxophonists Helena Kay and Paul Towndrow, and won the prestigious Peter Whittingham Jazz Prize with the Scottish band Square One. In addition to his jazz talents, Peter is also an accomplished classical pianist, having completed his Masters degree at the RCS in 2016.
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