Jazz breaking news: Good karma: Tommy Smith hots up
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tommy Smith hits the hard stuff in the spring when his newly formed group Karma release their debut album on 25 April.
Representing a significant departure for the saxophonist, the album, Karma, has a harder, jazz-rock direction incorporating funk and folk elements and the group have already been described as “Smith’s toughest and most creative group yet” by The Scotsman newspaper.
In keeping with Smith’s role in encouraging and supporting rising young jazz stars, particularly with the SNJO and his role as artistic director at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Karma features two of the hottest new players on the scene, bass virtuoso Kevin Glasgow and drum hotshot Alyn Cosker, who played with Smith on his previous Forbidden Fruit album, who join another album alumnus, keyboardist Steve Hamilton in this highly charged new venture that debuted in Glasgow last summer.
The album includes ten newly composed pieces and was recently mixed with Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow studios in Oslo. Dates for the Karma band, including festivals, are due to be announced shortly.
– Jon Newey