Matt Carmichael with Seonaid Aitken: Chasing Sakura

Hailed as “world class” by no less an authority than Tommy Smith, Scottish saxophonist Matt Carmichael performs music from his acclaimed 2021 debut album, Where Will the River Flow. A 2020 finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year contest, he recently graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s jazz programme, also sweeping awards in composition, improvisation and arranging. His playing and writing are strongly influenced by Scottish traditional music and the landscapes of his Highland birthplace, matching melodic potency with technical verve, emotional depth with brilliant vivacity. He’s joined here by pianist Fergus McCreadie, bassist Ali Watson, drummer Tom Potter and fiddler Charlie Stewart. Genre-crossing Scottish fiddle star Seonaid Aitken, best known as frontwoman with gypsy-jazz outfit Rose Room, reprises her new instrumental suite Chasing Sakura, inspired by the cherry-blossom festivals and customs she encountered while living in Japan. Featuring a bespoke ensemble of jazz, folk and classical players, comprising string quintet and saxophone/flute, it premiered to glowing reviews at 2020’s Edinburgh Jazz Festival.