COMPOSERS: Tommy Smith
LABELS: LINN RECORDS
WORKS: Misty Morning and No Time
PERFORMER: Smith (ss, ts); Guy Barker (t); Julian Arguelles (as); Steve Hamilton (p); Terje Gewelt (b); Ian Froman (d)
CATALOGUE NO: AKD 040
Tenorist Tommy Smith chose the direct and beguiling poetry of fellow Scot Norman MacCaig as his muse for this suite of 14 musically disparate numbers. It worked wonders and Smith – not yet thirty – belies his age by writing and playing with compelling reserve and sensitivity. The equally youthful band, regular sidemen all, navigate his sophisticated charts like they were standards. The work is, however, very special and reveals Smith to be a master of mood and lyricism. Exquisite, on all counts. Garry Booth