The reign of Tommy Smith as the king of jazz is over — what now?
Tommy Smith is no longer the leader of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. But the saxophonist is still very much its face.
Last week the musician stepped down as the band's artistic director after he was dismissed from Scotland's premier music and drama university, the Royal Conservatoire, over allegations he had a relationship with a student.
Yet Smith's picture remains plastered all over the website of the publicly funded orchestra he founded 30 years ago. Its youth wing is even named after the musician.
For decades, insiders say, the former teenage prodigy has been the king of Scottish jazz. His reign is now over. Some lament the loss of a genuine talent. Others last week were celebrating what they see as an opportunity for musicians to come out from under his shadow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British singer Example forced to cancel gig just hours after performing at Glastonbury as he apologises to fans
Example has issued an apology to fans after pulling out of a gig on Saturday night just hours after performing at Glastonbury. The singer and songwriter, 43, performed on the Shangri-La stage at the iconic music festival on Friday night. However, after his set, he was forced to cancel another appearance on Saturday night in a move that disappointed fans. Example, whose real name is Elliot John Gleave, was due to perform at Granite City Festival in Aberdeen. In a statement to his fans, the musician said: 'During my set at Glastonbury, we experienced some unexpected sound issues that forced me to push my voice much harder than usual. 'I could feel it starting to go, so we made the difficult decision to cut the set short by 20 minutes to protect it ahead of today's performance at Granite City Festival Aberdeen. 'I left the site immediately after the show and arrived at Gatwick by 7am, managing to get a few hours' sleep before my flight to Aberdeen. 'Unfortunately when I woke up, my voice was completely gone. 'I hate cancelling shows - over the past 21 years, I've played 1,534 gigs and only ever cancelled 11. 'Scotland has always been my favourite place to perform and this was an incredibly hard decision to make. 'To everyone who was planning to see me today - and to the Granite City Festival team - I'm truly sorry. 'We'll make it up to you, E x.' Example later clarified he wasn't making a dig at the production crew at Glastonbury, and said he had to rest up to fly back to Australia and be a 'professional dad'. At the start of this year the singer welcomed his third child - and first - with girlfriend Daisy Cox. Confirming his girlfriend had gone into labour a month early, Example told fans: 'Lucas Winter Cox Gleave. Aka Lukey Baby… aka Gorge Lucas. 01.01.25. 'Arrived 4 weeks ahead of schedule and he's absolutely perfect. Best NYD present ever. And no one gonna forget his birthday ever. Mummy and baby doing great.' Example announced his relationship with Daisy, who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife, in March 2023. Five months earlier, the musician revealed his nine year marriage to Erin - an Australian actress - was over, with the former couple focused on raising their two sons, Evander, ten, and Ennio, 7. Addressing the separation in a joint statement, they wrote: 'At the start of the UK summer we decided to separate. We have had an amazing 11 years together, but just a few too many adventures. Example announced his relationship with Daisy, who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife, in March 2023. 'Obviously we spent a lot of time behind the scenes trying to figure things out, but we came to the realisation that perhaps our time as a couple had just come to a natural end. 'So we have decided to go our separate ways whilst there is still an abundance of love and respect for one another. 'We have been Co-parenting happily and effectively now for almost half a year and our boys are surrounded with love.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
JK Rowling ridicules Pedro Pascal after reports The Last of Us star shut her down - as she reveals Boy George has blocked her after their spat
JK Rowling has taken a brutal swipe at Hollywood actor Pedro Pascal after he publicly lashed out at her once again over her stance on women's rights. The Harry Potter creator, 59, hit back in typically savage fashion after The Last of Us star reignited their feud during a new interview with Vanity Fair, where he doubled down on earlier attacks, branding Rowling a 'heinous loser'. Pascal, 49, who has a transgender sibling, originally lashed out at the best-selling author on Instagram earlier this year after she praised a Supreme Court ruling protecting women-only spaces. The Chilean-born actor described Rowling's reaction as 'awful, disgusting' and 'heinous LOSER behaviour.' Now, speaking to Vanity Fair, Pascal appeared to take aim at Rowling again, claiming he acted because he 'hates bullies'. 'The one thing that I would say I agonized over a little bit was just, 'Am I helping? Am I f***ing helping?' he said. 'It's a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen, and people will actually be protected. Listen, I want to protect the people I love. But it goes beyond that. Bullies make me f***ing sick.' In response she said: 'Can't say I feel very shut down, but keep at it, Pedro. God loves a trier.' His comments were hailed by LGBTQ+ outlet Gayety, which claimed Pascal had 'shut down' Rowling but the Edinburgh-based author was quick to clap back. In a typically scathing tweet, Rowling mocked the actor's attempt to take her down: 'Can't say I feel very shut down, but keep at it, Pedro. God loves a trier.' The row originally erupted after Rowling posted a defiant photo of herself smoking a cigar on a boat, with the caption: 'I love it when a plan comes together,' celebrating the court ruling which banned biological men from using single-sex spaces such as women's toilets, hospital wards and changing rooms. That photo sparked outrage from Pascal, who responded furiously online and has continued to attack Rowling in public. The actor, who will next appear in Marvel's Fantastic Four reboot, previously shared a post declaring: 'I can't think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorizing the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.' Rowling has become a leading voice in the gender-critical movement, often clashing with trans rights activists and celebrities who oppose her views. Pedro Pascal and his sister Lux are seen here at the global premiere of his film Gladiator II at London's Leicester Square last November And in yet another celebrity clash, the author revealed this week that she has now been blocked by none other than Boy George following a heated row on social media. Posting a screenshot of the block, Rowling sarcastically wrote: 'But you were getting so much publicity out of me, George. Don't tell me it backfired?' The spat between the two began earlier this month after George accused Rowling of being a 'rich, bored bully'. The Karma Chameleon singer, 63, has repeatedly voiced support for transgender rights, putting him firmly at odds with Rowling. Rowling did not hold back in her response, launching into a biting takedown and referencing George's criminal past. In a no-holds-barred post, she wrote: 'I've never been given 15 months for handcuffing a man to a wall and beating him with a chain.' George was jailed for four months in 2009 after being convicted of assault and false imprisonment of male escort Auden Carlsen. In 2017, he publicly apologised during an emotional interview with Piers Morgan's Life Stories, calling it a 'psychotic episode'. 'I stopped him from leaving my apartment,' he admitted, 'it's terrible what I did, and I'm ashamed and sorry for what I did. It was wrong.' This week, George appeared to reignite tensions by mocking Rowling once more - this time suggesting she was a muggle, a term from the Harry Potter series used to describe non-magical people. The pair have been trading blows since April, with Rowling blasting the singer after he accused her of failing to recognise the difference between transgender women and biological men.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Rod Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster and son Alistair wear leopard print in homage as they arrive at Glastonbury to support star in Legends slot
Penny Lancaster has arrived at Glastonbury festival to support her husband Rod Stewart as he headlines in the prestigious Legends slot. She was joined by her sons, model Alistair, 19, who was wearing a leopard print coat in preparation for his father's set and Aiden, 14. The matriarch, 54, looked very bohemian as she wore a tassel coat, oversized sunglasses, balloon trousers and a leopard print bag. The 80-year-old singer's teatime set comes the day after he claimed the country was 'fed up' with the Tories and that Labour was trying to ditch Brexit. He accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of giving Scottish fishing rights 'back to the EU', although the Government insists it has simply renewed an existing deal for European boats. His views represent a second volte-face given that he appeared to support Labour at last year's election – despite previously backing the Conservatives. Asked where Britain's political future now lay, he told The Times: 'It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me. 'But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch. For instance, I've read about Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular. 'We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him.' Asked what Mr Farage stands for aside from Brexit, tighter immigration and controversial economic promises he replied: 'Yeah, yeah. But Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. 'Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.' Sir Rod also seemed unconvinced that Sir Keir was going to fully address one of his personal pet hates. Three years ago, the singer donned a hi-vis jacket and rang around friends asking for help filling in potholes outside his Essex house. 'I took me Ferrari out. Nearly lost the f***ing wheel,' he said. 'And before I did in the Ferrari, I saw an ambulance that couldn't move, the wheel stuck right in there. 'So I took me mates out, and we knew what to do because I had builders in the house. 'We filled in a considerable length of the road, actually.' He added that potholes were still present 'all over Britain' in contrast to Europe.
