A tribute album that includes only two songs by the tributee? Well, on listening to violinist Holborn, you kind of get the idea: it’s not so much the songs as the style he’s interested in. I recall hearing Stuff Smith for the first time on a Nat 'King' Cole track, which gives you some idea of the era in question - towards the end of swing, just getting into bebop. Holborn’s own compositions – of which there are six on this album – demonstrate how well-marinated he is in the small group sound of the early 1940s.

With their light, throwaway feel and short duration, Holborn’s tunes could easily have been written by Smith back in the day, but let’s start with those that actually were – ‘Stop Look’ and ‘Desert Sands’. As suggested by its title, the latter sounds like an early incarnation of ‘Caravan’, while the former – a cheery swing number – is given extra bounce by the guitar comping of Boulton, who also dashes off a brief, effective solo. The album ends with a sweet rendition of Victor Young’s ballad ‘I Don’t Stand the Ghost of a Chance with You’ (which Smith recorded).

Matt Holborn refers to himself as inhabiting “the little world of jazz violin”, and truly, playing the instrument in a jazz context has always been something of a minority sport. But much as he is obviously influenced by Stuff Smith, Smith himself was primarily influenced by Louis Armstrong, rather than any fiddlers that came before him. This delightful album sheds a little sunlight on a rather neglected patch of jazz.