International Jazz Day - A Message from Tommy Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.
Friday, April 30, 2021
On behalf of the SNJO, Tommy Smith is sending a message for peace and goodwill to all the nations around the world celebrating the gift of music and International Jazz Day.
Tommy Smith writes;
International Jazz Day - Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Hi, I’m in the 12th Century Cathedral of St. Giles, in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland, and just presented JAZZ to 10,000 Scottish primary school kids at 10:00 AM today on International Jazz Day, and as part of Scotland’s first Assembly.
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra are also filming tonight a fantastic symbiotic collaboration called WHERE RIVERS MEET with visual artist Maria Rud which will be released on May 12.
I’d like to welcome all of you to our celebration of International Jazz Day, where people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and beliefs join forces and prove, without a doubt, that our similarities are more powerful than our differences.
Jazz is about freedom and will always be about freedom, freedom to expand, freedom to explore and to encourage and courage. Jazz keeps you evolving with its ever-evolving nature.
We give our heartfelt thanks and send our love to health workers worldwide for saving lives, working tirelessly day in day out.
And our most profound appreciation and gratitude to our heroes, the essential workers, putting their lives on the front line for total strangers due to the Coronavirus pandemic encircling our globe.
This year we’re still unable to perform live, but our hearts and gratefulness go out to everyone who continues to support the SNJO.
Below is a link to an extract from our 25th Anniversary concert from Perth Concert Hall.
https://youtu.be/vxA_5-fgXB4
On behalf of the SNJO, I would like to send a message for peace and goodwill to all the nations around the world celebrating the gift of music and International Jazz Day.
SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA
‘If I Were A Bell’ by Frank Loesser
arranged by Kieran McLeod
Saxophones: Martin Kershaw, Paul Towndrow, Tommy Smith, Konrad Wisniewski, Bill Fleming
Trumpets: Jim Davison, Sean Gibbs, Tom MacNiven, Lorne Cowieson
Trombones: Kieran McLeod, Liam Shortall, Anoushka Nanguy, Michael Owers
Piano: Pete Johnstone
Acoustic Bass: Calum Gourlay
Drums: Alyn Cosker
Recorded Live on 5th December 2020 Perth Concert Hall
Stage Manager Ashley Holland Live
Sound Engineer Mark McKellen
Assistant Engineer Mark Renfrew
Live Lighting Technician Rebekah Pattison
Live Video Mixing: John Pike Video
Photography: Derek Clark & Perthshire Sound & Light
SNJO Manager Lindsay Robertson
SNJO Artist Director Tommy Smith
Supported by Creative Scotland