As the title suggests, We’re Not In Kansas Anymore is the beginning of a new dawn for Kansas Smitty’s. Their fifth studio album marks a progression from their swing led palette, instead pulling inspiration from modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema. Kansas Smitty’s continues to be the primary outlet for bandleader, alto-saxophonist and clarinetist Giacomo Smith, a musician and producer whose tireless creativity continues to lift his reputation, recently producing albums for both Jamie Cullum and rising star Jas Kayser.

Smith and his Kansas Smitty’s bandmates have a delicate relationship with traditionalism; a deep enthusiasm for jazz and blues of the last century has always fed their creative output. That continues, but more subtly than before. Mood presides over structure, with a compositional shift that builds on the themes of their 2020 K7 release Things Happened Here drawing further on expansive progressive sounds to create a 21st century blues.

I want people to feel a big range of emotion – I want people to see things. There’s joy and there’s humour, but there’s also spirituality. There’s seriousness, there’s loss and longing – and those are all there on purpose. We’ve experienced them as a collective and I’ve experienced them as an individual. ~ KS

The band’s fifth studio album marks ten years of Kansas Smitty’s, whose creativity has been felt through a number of mediums across the decade, whether that be with their intimate and much missed East London basement venue of the same name, or KSTV, the innovative livestream series which they produced through the pandemic which won a Jazz FM award for digital innovation.

A number of esteemed personnel have joined Smith over the years, and continue to do so on We’re Not In Kansas Anymore. With Jas Kayser making way after her work on 2021’s Plunderphonia, the new record sees the addition of two highly-acclaimed trumpeters and KS first timers; Dylan Jones(formerly of Ezra Collective) and Laura Jurd (Dinosaur). “Both of them are amazing and actually really inspired me to think about how I involve new people in the future”, says Smith.

Since the release of Kansas Smitty’s 2020 album, Things Happened Here, Smith’s star has continued to rise – particularly in establishing himself as a producer, in what he calls “old school production”. Kansas Smitty’s collaborated with Jamie Cullum on Pianoman at Christmas, with Smith lending his production to over half the tracks. He was also on production duties with fast rising drummer Jas Kayser on her highly-celebrated JAS 5IVE record as well as regularly appearing in Rob Brydon’s live band, personally chosen by the Welsh comedian & actor after he saw Kansas Smitty’s playing at Ronnie Scott’s.

We’re Not In Kansas Anymore is the most future-looking offering from Smith and Kansas Smitty’s yet; the production values are crisp yet warm, enabling nods to the blues. Face In The Crowd exemplifies this, drawing on cinematic moods in more ways than one; the track is loosely inspired by the 1957 film of the same name, where a populist TV star realises he can manipulate an entire nation. Smith drew on Piedmont blues musicians like Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy Williamson to bring the sound of a by-gone era into 2022.

Longtime Kansas Smitty bassist Ferg Ireland co-wrote album opener Bokeh with Giacomo, tenorist Alec Harper and Dylan Jones. Its’ irresistible beat and wall of woodwind and horns evoke Steve Reich with a distinctly English broken beat feel; not a million miles away from the likes of GoGo Penguin.

Do you just hit the beat from the top or do you give people the element of suspense? I think that’s what this song has – that’s what the drop is all about, right? The whole idea here was to kind of create these cinematic moods. Bokeh illustrates a kind of abstracted imagery. ~ KS

Meanwhile, there’s Ghosts – a quick-paced Turaeg infused number co-written with guitarist Dave Archer. It beams with a palm-muted guitar rhythm, inspired partly by Smith’s own fandom of singer-songwriter and guitarist, Omara “Bombino” Moctar. Fellow African artists Toumani Diabate and Emahoy Tsegue-Meryem inspired Smith, on tracks Memory Palace and Sunday Davidson, respectively.

We’re Not In Kansas Anymore doesn’t just mark a new chapter for Giacomo Smith. It celebrates a decade of Kansas Smitty’s, a band whose distinctive voice continues to stand apart in an era defining jazz resurgence.

Words: Tina Edwards