Tommy Smith’s Karma + Newt BRIT JAZZ FEST DOUBLE BILL Wednesday 10th August

Hailed on arrival by critics as the toughest and most creative group of his career, Tommy Smith’s KARMA sees the brilliant Scottish saxophonist lead a band of virtuosic musicians on a deeply grooving adventure that draws on influences from around the world. Featuring Tommy Smith (saxes, shakuhatchi, synth), Kevin Glasgow (electric bass), Steve Hamilton (piano, synth), Alyn Cosker (drums).

They are joined in this intriguing double-bill of far-reaching Scottish jazz by NeWt, who draw on jazz and improvisation alongside elements of rock, ambient/electronic and folk/world influences.  NeWt features ambient guitarist Graeme Stephen, drummer Chris Wallace and trombonist Chris Greive who plays both acoustically, and through effects units including octave pedals which make the horn sound like an otherwordly electric bass.

Biographies:

Tommy Smith’s Karma

Hailed on arrival by critics as the toughest and most creative group of his career, Tommy Smith’s KARMA sees the brilliant Scottish saxophonist lead a band of virtuosic musicians on a deeply grooving acid jazz adventure that draws on influences from around the world.

featuring Tommy Smith (saxes, shakuhatchi, synth), Kevin Glasgow (electric bass), Steve Hamilton (piano, synth), Alyn Cosker (drums)

KARMA Biographies

Tommy Smith

Born in Edinburgh in 1967, Tommy Smith won best soloist and best group titles at Edinburgh International Jazz Festival, aged 14, and recorded his first album at 15. After studying at Berklee College of Music he joined Gary Burton’s group, touring worldwide and recording the Whiz Kids album on ECM Records. He signed to Blue Note Records in 1989 and having formed his own record company, Spartacus, has now released twenty-four solo albums. He has presented television and radio programmes for the BBC and Channel Four and has received awards and honours including a BBC Heart of Jazz award, Best Woodwind at the inaugural Scottish Jazz Awards (2008), the Scottish Jazz Expo Award (2009), and honorary doctorates from Heriot-Watt and Glasgow Caledonian universities. His many compositions include four saxophone concertos, the symphonic work Edinburgh for Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, The Morning of the Imminent for Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, the Glasgow Jazz Festival commission Beasts of Scotland, and a series of large scale works, including Planet Wave, Beauty and the Beast, Torah and the world’s first meeting between jazz and Japanese taiko drumming, The World of the Gods, for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, which he had directed since 1995. In June 2010 he was awarded a professorship by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he is artistic director of jazz

Steve Hamilton

Born in Aberdeen in 1973, Steve grew up in musical family with professional guitarist father Laurie a constant source of inspiration and invaluable musical information. After encouragement and tuition from Tommy Smith, Steve applied for and won a full scholarship to study Jazz Performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Steve graduated in 1995 and spent the next years in London, playing with such notable musicians as Freddie Hubbard and Pee Wee Ellis and becoming a long standing member of legendary drummer Bill Bruford’s internationally acclaimed jazz quartet, Earthworks. Since returning to Scotland in 2001, Steve has continued to enhance his reputation as one of the UK’s top pianists - his CV also includes dates with Martin Taylor, Gary Burton and Tommy Smith’s current quartet.

Kevin Glasgow

Born in Inverness in 1983 to musical parents, Kevin moved with his family to Northern Ireland when he was nine and began learning guitar and playing in traditional Irish music sessions. He began playing bass guitar at sixteen and studied Popular Music at Napier University in Edinburgh, playing regularly on the local jazz circuit. Since graduating, he has played across the UK in venues including Ronnie Scott’s, festivals including Glastonbury, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Isle of White Jazz Festival, and Glasgow Jazz Festival and on BBC Radio Scotland and Radio 3. He has performed with Tony Monaco, Clark Tracey, Joe Locke and

Dave O’Higgins. Based in London since 2008, Kevin currently plays bass and guitar in projects including Bill Mudge’s Hammond Trio, a fusion trio with virtuoso guitarist Alex Hutchings, and the Jazz in Paris Project with Eve Buigues.

Alyn Cosker

Born in Irvine in 1979, Alyn started playing drums at the age of thirteen. He won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in 1985 but never got round to taking it up, instead taking a BA (Hons) degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University, from where he launched a career that has seen him become one of the UK’s leading and most versatile drummers. He has recorded with jazz, pop and folk musicians, including Paul Towndrow, Wolfstone, Scottish traditional pianist Sandy Meldrum and singer Isobel Campbell and has worked with jazz musicians including Courtney Pine, Lee Konitz, Jim Mullen, Liane Carroll and Frank Gambale. He released his first album, Lyn’s Une, on Linn Records last year.

NeWt

“It could be the best and most fearless contemporary jazz unit to come out of Scotland since Trio AAB.”

(Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise)

“...structured episodes are interspersed with bouts of fiery free improv mayhem, powerful and inventive music of a high order.”

(Kenny Mathieson, The List)

“...a totally absorbing blend of experimentation and unashamed tunefulness.”

(Rob Adams, Jazz UK)

The music of NeWt is truly unique. Each member composes from his own perspective and draws from his own wealth of musical and personal influences. The common languages are those of jazz and improvisation, however, elements of rock, ambient/electronic and folk/world music are also prevalent in the sound. The extraordinary instrumentation of guitar, trombone and drums is one of a kind. Making NeWt sound like no other group in either the jazz or rock field. Graeme Stephen uses ambient guitar effects and loops to create swirling soundscapes and drones while Chris Greive plays the trombone both acoustically and through effects units incuding octave pedals which make the horn sound like an otherwordly electric bass. Many ethnic percussion sounds are also used to great effect. NeWt also blend compositional approaches whereby complex written passages can unexpectedly give way to free improvisations where any outcome is possible. This gives the music a fresh quality when being performed in a live setting. Many moods are captured, sometimes with the swing rhythms more common in jazz, sometimes using less conventional rhythmic time signatures and other times drawing from the balkan and middle eastern folk traditions for exotic melody lines.

NeWt - A Brief History

NeWt began in June 2006, the three members sharing a desire to rehearse new ideas weekly. These sessions formed a sonic foundation. NeWt is Graeme Stephen: guitar/effects. Winner of the prestigious Promoter's Choice award from Jazz Services in 2008, he was also selected for the Take Five mentoring scheme that same year. Chris Greive: trombone/effects; lead trombonist in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Chris is very active in music education initiatives, making NeWt an effective group for giving workshops/masterclasses. Chris Wallace: drums/percussion. Chris was selected for the Air Time mentoring program in June of 2010. All members of the group contribute original compositions to the repertoire. NeWt was twice awarded funding from the Scottish Arts Council. In 2008, the New Works fund; the group travelled to Germany collaborating with Berlin saxophonist Silke Eberhard. The following year they were funded to record the album of material with Silke. This album has been released by the prestigious F-IRE Collective of London, raising the band's UK profile. The involvement of Silke Eberhard has also begun creating a European profile. NeWt has a strong reputation in Scotland, appearing at the Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Jazz Festivals and the European Jazz Network conference in 2009 in Glasgow. The new album has received very positive reviews in The Herald, The List and Jazzwise Magazine. More recently NeWt were selected to perform a tribute gig at the 90th birthday exhibition of legendary Scottish painter and free jazz musician Alan Davie that was held in Falkirk.

The Music Of NeWt

The music of NeWt is truly unique. Each member composes from his own perspective and draws from his own wealth of musical and personal influences. The common languages are those of jazz and improvisation, however, elements of rock, ambient/electronic and folk/world music are also prevalent in the sound. The extraordinary instrumentation of guitar, trombone and drums is one of a kind. Making NeWt sound like no other group in either the jazz or rock field. Graeme Stephen uses ambient guitar effects and loops to create swirling soundscapes and drones while Chris Greive plays the trombone both acoustically and through effects units incuding octave pedals which make the horn sound like an otherwordly electric bass. Many ethnic percussion sounds are also used to great effect. NeWt also blend compositional approaches whereby complex written passages can unexpectedly give way to free improvisations where any outcome is possible. This gives the music a fresh quality when being performed in a live setting. Many moods are captured, sometimes with the swing rhythms more common in jazz, sometimes using less conventional rhythmic time signatures and other times drawing from the balkan and middle eastern folk traditions for exotic melody lines.

NeWt - A Brief History

NeWt began in June 2006, the three members sharing a desire to rehearse new ideas weekly. These sessions formed a sonic foundation. NeWt is Graeme Stephen: guitar/effects. Winner of the prestigious Promoter's Choice award from Jazz Services in 2008, he was also selected for the Take Five mentoring scheme that same year. Chris Greive: trombone/effects; lead trombonist in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Chris is very active in music education initiatives, making NeWt an effective group for giving workshops/masterclasses.