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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSMITH, Tommy(b 27 April 1967, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) Tenor saxophone, later also soprano; composer. Raised in Scotland, he came from nowhere heavily influenced by Stan Getz to create big stir with his debut album Giant Strides '83 on GFM. Friends collected money to send him to Berklee, where he met Gary Burton, toured with him '85. Somewhere along the line at a gig in Scotland he was cussed off the stage by Harry Edison for his deportment and because he did not know 'Lady Be Good'; he signed by Blue Note and thrown in the deep end with a stellar rhythm section on Step By Step '88 he floundered badly, recovering somewhat with Peeping Tom '90 and especially Standards '91, but the label dropped him. He survived all this, and joined the high-class UK Linn label (Martin Taylor, Claire Martin, Carol Kidd: Linn has a knack for not over-producing new talents). With Forward Motion, his trio with Terje Gewelt on bass and Ian Froman on drums, Reminiscences was a carefully considered but relaxed outing deeply indebted to Jan Garbarek. Misty Morning And No Time was a sextet album with Guy Barker and Julian ARGüelles; Azure '95 was music dedicated to the painter Joan Miro, with Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, Lars Danielsson on bass, Jon Christensen on drums. Beasts Of Scotland '96 had Smith's music inspired by Scots poet Edwin Morgan commissioned by the Glasgow International Jazz Festival, the sextet including Barker and Alec Dankworth. Also on Linn '98 was the quartet The Sound Of Love, dedicated to Ellington and Strayhorn ballads. Despite not knowing 'Lady Be Good', his own composing seemed likely to stay the course. |