Results for "Nick Smart"

Nick Smart

Head of Jazz Programmes at the Royal Academy of Music, Nick Smart is an internationally renowned Grammy nominated jazz trumpeter, conductor and educator who has given guest masterclasses and performances around the world. In 2013 he was awarded the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Jazz Education, in 2015 awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music, and in 2022 conferred with Professorship from the University of London. At home he is recognised as one of the leading musicians on the UK jazz scene, where as well as being in regular demand as a sideman to players of all generations, he continues to record and tour with his own projects.
 
In 2005 Nick released his debut album as leader “Remembering Nick Drake” to critical acclaim throughout Europe. The album, described by Straight No Chaser magazine as “…a future classic because it really captures all that is best about British jazz….”, featured Smart’s arrangements of Nick Drake’s music played by an all star line-up including John Parricelli, Paul Clarvis, Christine Tobin and Stan Sulzmann amongst others. In December 2008 the Nick Smart Trio released a highly praised follow-up album, “Remembering Louis Armstrong”, featuring Hans Koller and Paul Clarvis. His last band, Nick Smart’s Trogon, merged contemporary jazz sounds with Afro Cuban concepts and released their album "Tower Casa" on Babel Records in November 2013. It received 4 star reviews in Jazzwise and the Guardian, who described it as "an undemonstratively idiosyncratic fusion, and Smart plays with brightness, tight timing and subtle intonation throughout." 
 
His versatility as a trumpet player and his work at the upper echelons of Jazz Education has allowed him to perform alongside many international jazz stars in a variety of contexts, from Jazz Festival appearances to summer school concerts. These have included George Russell, Dave Holland, Bob Brookmeyer, John Hollenbeck, the New York Voices, Ingrid Jensen, Mike Gibbs and Dave Douglas, as well as most of the leading names on the UK jazz scene. Amongst other things, Nick was a member of the late Kenny Wheeler's Big Band with whom he had a long association. He has recorded on the album of vocalist Christine Tobin in her interpretations of Leonard Cohen songs, and plays in the last quartet of saxophonist Stan Sulzmann on album “Shadow Painting”. He also performed internationally as the regular soloist with the famous James Taylor Quartet, “JTQ”.

Circadia

By Mammal Hands

Label: ACT Music
Released: 2026
Track listing: Window to Your World; Helios; Alia’s Abandon;
Paper Boats; Fallow Tide;
Forgotten Friend; A Thread in the Dark; Four Flowers; Submerge.

Mammal Hands at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days

by Marek J. Śmietański
August 3, 2026

A collection of photos from the Mammal Hands concert at Club Stodola in Warsaw on July 3, 2026 featuring Nick Smart, Jordan Smart and Rob Turner. Other photo reports from the same festival: Tomoki Sanders at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Adrian Younge at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Lizz Wright at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, ...

Vilnius Mama Jazz 2026

by Ian Patterson
June 11, 2026

Vilnius Mama Jazz Lithuanian National Drama Theatre25th Edition Vilnius. LithuaniaMay 22-24, 2026 Vilnius Mama Jazz turned 25. In festival terms that is early middle age. When you consider that 25 years is roughly a quarter of the entire history of jazz, the significance of the milestone assumes greater meaning.

Mammal Hands: Circadia

by Neil Duggan
February 19, 2026

The album title Circadia reflects themes of renewal and change rooted in the cyclical patterns of life. For the English trio Mammal Hands, change is the keyword: this sixth release marks a significant step in their evolution. Their move to the Act Music label represents a notable shift, one that may broaden their visibility while giving ...

The Celtic Wheel Of The Year Suite

By Josephine Davies

Label: Ubuntu Music
Released: 2025
Track listing: Eos (summer solstice); Lammas; Mabon; Samhain; Gaia’s Breath (winter solstice); Imbolc; Ostara; Beltane.

Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores

By John Daversa

Label: Greenleaf Music
Released: 2025
Track listing: Smatta; Some Days Are Better Suite; Dallab; Sweet Yakity Waltz; D.G.S.; Song for Someone; C.P.E.P.; Who’s Standing in My Corner; Introduction to No Particular Song; Some Doors Are Better Open; Everybody Knows It.

Michael Buckley: Blowing Hot

by Ian Patterson
April 28, 2025

An early spring vacation to New York saw Michael Buckley and his wife take in what he describes as “the usual sights." But for the Dublin saxophonist that also meant trips to “three or four saxophone shops." Once a tenor saxophonist, always a tenor saxophonist. Buckley, in fact, started out on the flute, playing ...

Song For Someone: The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler

by Ian Patterson
April 20, 2025

Song For Someone The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler Brian Shaw and Nick Smart 509 Pages ISBN: # ISBN-13-978-178179 Equinox Publishing 2025 If only for his trumpet and flugelhorn playing Kenny Wheeler stands as one of the modern greats, marrying linear lyricism and free-jazz expression like no-one else. ...

Josephine Davies & The Ensō Ensemble: The Celtic Wheel Of The Year Suite

by Angelo Leonardi
March 31, 2025

Sassofonista e compositrice britannica, nota per il trio Satori, Josephine Davies debutta con un ricco e raffinato progetto orchestrale, che presenta la sua suite in otto parti ispirata alle feste stagionali celtiche delle isole Shetland. “Dopo aver composto diversi pezzi per orchestra jazz" --ha detto Josephine--"ispirata da un trasferimento in campagna durante il lockdown, ...