“Emergence” – new album out now

Emergence - the new album by the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz OrchestraEstablished in June 2002, the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra features the very best young jazz musicians from Scotland.  Showcasing endless talent, improvisational skills, exuberance and verve, the orchestra members demonstrate these traits in every performance and play with a collective maturity well beyond their years. With a repertoire that makes no concessions to their youth and featuring soloists of startling ambition and creativity, these young musicians bring alive the music and pay tribute to the true giants of jazz making their compositions sing with enthusiasm, style, personality and expression.

“TSYJO smashed it!!! I think that they had the best performance and piece of the night”

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“Exploration” – The Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra featuring Joe Locke

"Exploration" by the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz OrchestraAt a time when the oral jazz tradition is in increasing jeopardy, you’ve got to admire Tommy Smith. Berklee schooled in the 1980s, the Scottish saxophonist had a promising career in the United States. He was a member of Gary Burton’s mid-1980s quintet, with the vibraphonist producing Step by Step the first of four records Smith released on Blue Note between 1988 and 1992 featuring an all star line-up including John Scofield, Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette. But after a few years in the US, Smith decided to return home to Scotland, where he’s since set up his own Spartacus label and released a series of fine albums, including another all-star session, Evolution (ESC, 2003), and Forbidden Fruit (Spartacus, 2005), with his Scottish quartet. read more

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The Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra “Exploration”

Featuring special guest Joe Locke on vibes – who seizes the attention with every solo, such is his unbridled vigour and tumultuous energy – this album puts Tommy Smith’s young jazz orchestra through its paces courtesy of a sensibly chosen but by no means clich’d repertoire that allows members to explore their nascent soloing capabilities as well as honing their ensemble skills. read more

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Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra: Exploration

**** (4 stars)

SAXOPHONIST Tommy Smith launched this big band, at his own expense, in 2002 to help foster the cream of young Scottish jazz talent, and their debut recording amply illustrates the depth of that talent. Bolstered by some section leaders from the senior Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the band were joined by American vibes maestro Joe Locke as a dazzling guest soloist for a brief Scottish tour in February. read more

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Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra / Joe Locke, “Exploration”

Tommy Smith knows all about youth jazz – he was a teenage saxophone prodigy himself, on the road with vibes star Gary Burton when barely out of school. Smith has been running an ambitious youth orchestra in Scotland for years, and this set (mainly distributed through the saxophonist’s website) doesn’t just chronicle the sound of the latest edition, but adds the exciting American vibraphone virtuoso Joe Locke. read more

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live at the Jazz Centre Edinburgh

4-star **** FORMED by the renowned Scots saxophonist Tommy Smith, the Youth Jazz Orchestra is a non-profit collective of some of the most promising jazz babies the country has to offer. read more

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