Aesthetically and artistically, a jazz version of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is a risky venture. But hats-off to Tommy Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra for pulling off this convincing jazz corollary. The libretto is adapted by Liz Lockheed, a former Scots Poet Laureate, and performed in the Scots vernacular by actor Tam Dean Burn, while Smith has re-orchestrated (and re-invented) the classical score to imaginative effect. Featuring pianist Makoto Ozone, whose friendship with Smith dates back to their Berklee days and membership of Gary Burton’s Whizz Kids, this live recording is great fun – and yes, jazz can be fun, though post Louis Armstrong you might struggle to find evidence. The press notes say it’s a treat for all ages, which it can be, but its significance lies in Prokofiev’s original intention, as a “symphonic fairy tale for children”. Conceived so that each character in the tale is represented by a separate instrument of the orchestra so that young people become familiar with the different sonorities of musical instruments, the arrival of this performance could not be better timed. In an age where smartphones and social media are taking up more and more space in young people’s lives, here is a convincing alternative that can provide them with an excellent introduction to jazz, which, as ever is at the barricades fighting the influence of two and four-bar melodies looped ad infinitum, electronic instruments like Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines, the blatantly mechanical sound of MIDI sequencers, and the awful sound of digitally chopped-up and processed vocals. In contrast, Peter and the Wolf points to more enriching horizons – here are real instruments played by real people to impressive effect with a storyline to engage the youngest and help them find focus in the music. If a live performance of this enjoyable adaptation does not provoke curiosity and interest about jazz in young people between five and 12 years old, the game is well and truly up.