Biography

Sax player, composer and educator Tommy Smith was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1967. In 1983, he recorded his first album, Giant Strides, and received a scholarship to study at Berklee. Forward Motion was his first group, with Terje Gewelt, Ian Froman and Laszlo Gardony. Upon arriving in Boston, he joined Gary Burton’s group and recorded Whiz Kids (ECM). Since the ‘80s, he has been the musical director of Scotland’s National Jazz Orchestra. Smith received the BBC Heart of Jazz Award in 2008. He has recorded over twenty albums for Hep, GFM, Blue Note, Linn and his own label, Spartacus.