Their ages were given as fifteen to twenty-three and it turned out that some of them were a year or three shy of the lower end of that scale. But while they were way too young to be hanging around in bars, on a March 2003 night in Henry’s Jazz Cellar in Edinburgh they showed they had the musical maturity to play great jazz with confidence, panache and remarkable depth of feeling.

Five years on, the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra has developed into both a concert attraction in its own right and a feeder group for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and various music college courses around the world.

Smith, who knows from personal experience all about being an outstanding teenage jazz musician looking to progress, formed the orchestra to channel a torrent of young talent that he realised was emerging in Scotland.

In May 2002, he contacted leaders of education departments throughout the country, seeking assistance in discovering the most promising players. Within weeks he had held auditions and begun monthly rehearsals in Glasgow. By the end of the year TSYJO had played support gigs for SNJO. Their monthly residency at Henry’s, then the hug of Edinburgh’s thriving jazz scene, began soon afterwards and festival appearances at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen followed.

This recording took place at the end of a tour, made possible by the generous sponsorship of Shell, with the phenomenal New York-based vibes player Joe Locke. Hear how, bolstered by special guests Ryan Quigley (trumpet) and Mike Janisch (bass), they attack big band favourites A Night in Tunisia and Cottontail with relish and invest Oliver Nelson’s Hoedown with zestful enthusiasm and Kenny Wheeler’s beautifully ebbing and flowing Gentle Peace with detailed reflection.

Locke is a terrifically exciting soloist, a force of nature in any situation. Yet his young colleagues are inspired rather than daunted by his presence. Alan Benzie, who takes the solo before Locke’s on Tunisia, would become the first Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year just a few weeks later and is currently a star pupil at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Liam Heath actually hadn’t turned thirteen that night in Henry’s but he duels like a veteran with fellow trumpeter Tom MacNiven on Now, a minor blues by Swedish pianist Lars Jansson that also finds the trombone section sparring creatively as well as illustrating the orchestra’s intensity and togetherness.

There are more where these musicians come from and this is just the first documentation of a band that thrills with its vigour and ability. Welcome to the future of jazz.