Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock - Bezique

Saxophonist Tommy Smith and pianist Brian Kellock often work together in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra but this live recording provides a rare opportunity to hear Scotland's two leading jazz musicians in a duo setting. Smith has been in the top league of international jazz players for almost two decades and Kellock won the award for best album at the 2002 BBC Jazz Awards.Both players are brimming with highly imaginative musical ideas, and both have the technical mastery to execute pretty much anything they can think up. Smith confines himself to tenor saxophone, soloing at length in lucid and exciting fashion, while Kellock's intelligent promptings are fascinating even before he launches into his own dazzling solo flights.These tracks are taken from two long and varied sets of top quality music and they include material from the Ellington-Strayhorn team, Stan Getz's Parker 51 and compositions by a couple of Smith's former associates, Chick Corea and Steve Swallow.Recorded 2002, live at the Hub, Edinburgh International Jazz Festival Personnel: Tommy Smith (tenor saxophone), Brian Kellock (piano)