Organic Intelligence XXII –Scottish Avant-Jazz and Improvised Music

In this month's antidote to the algorithm, Stewart Smith introduces us to the wildly diverse world of Scottish free jazz and improv, from a 70s Peel Session to the present day

There’s a buzz around Scottish jazz right now, with Fergus McCreadie picking up a Mercury Prize nomination and the Scottish Album of the Year Award for 2022’s Forest Floor. The pianist, who also plays with Graham Costello’s post-rock influenced Strata and Liam Shorthall’s contemporary fusion outfit corto.alto, is among a generation of musicians to have emerged from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s jazz programme, founded by saxophonist Tommy Smith in 2009. Over time, a local gigging infrastructure has emerged, with Glasgow venues like 78 and the sadly defunct Blue Arrow hosting regular sessions. This has inevitably led to a crossover with the wider music scene, the jazzers jamming with folk, indie and electronic musicians.