Mercury nominees corto.alto and Fergus McCreadie join SNJO for Nu-Age Sounds – Planet World

Mercury Prize nominees Glasgow’s corto.alto and pianist Fergus McCreadie join a stellar cast of musician-composers in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra’s Nu-Age Sounds – Planet World with gigs in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow from 31st January to 2nd February.

Following the resounding success of the inaugural Nu-Age Sounds tour in March 2024, the SNJO has again commissioned new music from eight of Scottish jazz’s most exciting young stars.

McCreadie and corto.alto (aka multi-instrumentalist-producer Liam Shortall), along with singer kitti, saxophonists Helena Kay and Matt Carmichael, trombonist Anoushka Nanguy, bassist Ewan Hastie and KARMA, will combine thrilling new jazz sounds with science fiction to highlight the transformative power of live orchestral live.

“The artists in our line-up are all award-winners,” says SNJO founder-director, saxophonist Tommy Smith, who has played a major role in creating Scotland’s currently thriving, internationally admired young jazz scene through the jazz course he established at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

In addition to corto.alto and McCreadie’s Mercury recognition, Ewan Hastie is a BBC Young Jazz Musician winner, Helena Kay is a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and Peter Whittingham Jazz Prize winner and Matt Carmichael won the Best Band title with his quintet at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2024. Anoushka Nanguy won the Rising Star title at the Scottish Jazz Awards, kitti has twice won the Best Singer title at the same awards, and pianist Peter Johnstone, who features in KARMA is a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and a Yamaha Scholarship holder.

As with Nu-Age Sounds 2024, this latest edition combines orchestral jazz with visual commentaries in a stunning sound and light spectacle that will make a special live gig experience.

“What makes this second Nu-Age Sounds tour particularly exciting is the way our composers have responded to a specific brief,” says Smith. “The narrative of Planet World calls for each composer to convey the character of a planet and its inhabitants as the universe becomes in danger of imploding. Jazz musicians are renowned for applying their imaginations in spontaneous situations. Planet World allows them to be super-creative as composers and to trigger their own creativity and that of the orchestra’s players in the heat of a live performance.”

Nu-Age Sounds – Planet World tours to the Usher Hall, Edinburgh (31 January), Dundee Rep (1 February) and the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (2 February)  

For full details visit snjo.co.uk