In the first of four jazz concerts to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, Tommy Smith, director of both the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and his titular Youth Jazz Orchestra who was recently awarded an OBE “for services to education and jazz music”, reprised what is widely regarded as one of the most successful commissions of the Glasgow International Jazz Festival: Beasts of Scotland (Linn Records), inspired by a sequence of ten wildlife poems by the late Edwin Morgan from his collection Virtual and Other Realities (Carcanet).
Joined on stage by two members from the original 1996 recording: fellow saxophonist Andy Panayi and drummer Tom Gordon; two musicians from his current quartet: pianist Pete Johnstone and bassist Calum Gourlay; trumpeter James Copus; and actor Tam Dean Burn who last month encountered a snarling beast in the shape of a knife-wielding thug; Beasts of Scotland is, to quote a couple of Champagne-swigging cougars, absolutely fabulous.
From the soaring seduction of a brace of courting eagles and the eerie howl of a lonesome wolf; to the bushy-tailed lashing of a wildcat on the prowl and the inspired spinning of a cave-dwelling spider whose plucky perseverance emboldened Bruce; one phrase from Salmon is not only a recurring theme in each of the nine performed tracks (Red Deer, fittingly, remained illusive), but perfectly describes the muscular delivery of Tam Dean Burn, the boldness of Smith’s compositions and the brilliance of his sextet’s execution. And that phrase is this: “the thrust of indomitable life”.
A line which extends to the sterling support from the award-winning Glasgow-based quartet Square One, fronted by guitarist Joe Williamson, whose introduction to their final of four accomplished tunes drew cries normally associated with that other endangered Scottish beast the Tartan Army. Namely, “aw”.
It’s 38 years since Smith first performed at The Queen’s Hall – two years after it transformed from a place of religious to musical worship. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait that long for his next concert for he returns on 13 June with pianist Brian Kellock and Gaelic singer Kathleen MacIness with support from the Fergus McCreadie Trio. And if it’s anything like the standout tune Midge, a swarming stramash of cacophonous solos which conjured up images of Macbeth’s weird sisters, it will be a bloody good night.
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