Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra: Emergence – review

(Spartacus)Any band led by the Scottish sax-star Tommy Smith always raises the bar, and this session by the talented youth orchestra he directs is a genuinely appealing album for big-band fans. An inspired choice of material from Count Basie's Moten Swing to Steely Dan's funkily simmering Black Friday, provides a constantly diverting programme. Astor Piazzolla's kaleidoscopic Michelangelo draws thoughtful solos from the saxes, Oliver Nelson's In a Mellow Tone arrangement has the horn sections ea...

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