Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tommy Smith: Blue Smith

154

Tommy Smith: Blue Smith

By

Sign in to view read count
Tommy Smith: Blue Smith
Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith boasts a corpulent and ringing tone via his zealous articulation of extended notes and stylish mode of execution as he often melds tenacity with grace and eloquence. Here, Smith unites with guitarist John Scofield, bassist James Genus and drummer Clarence Penn for a jazz/blues based venture, aptly titled, Blue Smith.

In some instances, the pairing of Smith and Scofield does indeed rekindle thoughts of the guitarist’s now legendary early 90’s teaming with tenor sax icon Joe Lovano; however, with this release, the band pursues medium tempo swing-blues motifs along with dashes of post-bop thrown into the mix. Enhanced by a luminescent audio production, Smith and Scofield trade warm bluesy lines atop Penn’s loose rhythms on “El Nino” while they switch gears for the funk-groove piece, “Hubba Hubba” which remains fairly consistent with Scofield’s recent bump, grind and funk induced recordings. “Dr. Sco” features enticing and rapidly executed bop-ish choruses augmented by Smith’s commanding presence and brawny, angular attack. - - Scofield and Smith do exhibit a respectable amount of synergy as the guitarist’s somewhat gruff toned electric guitar voicings and punishing leads serve as a nice foil for Smith’s rich lyricism and noticeably elegant demeanor. However the saxophonist does pack a mighty punch, especially on the four bar blues composition, “Blacken’ Blue”. On this piece the extraordinary bassist James Genus steers the walking blues tempo with his resonant and rather poignant single note lines as Scofield melds fragmented be-bop phraseology with blues driven emotion.

With Blue Smith Tommy Smith adds yet another meritorious chapter to his impressive career. - Last year he performed steamy renditions of Ellington-Strayhorn ballads on The Sound of Love and here, along with a superstar band, Smith provides all the excitement and fireworks that one would expect as we eagerly await his next venture.

* * * * (out of * * * * *)

Personnel

Tommy Smith
saxophone, tenor

Tommy Smith; tenor & soprano saxophones: John Scofield; guitar: James Genus; acoustic bass: Clarence Penn; drums

Tommy Smith website: www.tommysmith.demon.co.uk

Album information

Title: Blue Smith | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Linn Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.