Dancing with Embers Matt Carmichael

• 1 a distant glow 05:49
• 2 flint 04:29
• 3 stone skimmer 03:51
• 4 restful sky 01:45
• 5 road from the sea 02:44
• 6 dancing with embers 02:48
• 7 beckoning night 03:01
• 8 aglow 03:54
• 9 blue hour 03:56
• 10 mangata 03:19
• 11 kite 05:13
• 12 woodsmoke 04:34
• Total Runtime 45:23

Info for Dancing with Embers

A collection of emotionally driven instrumental songs where melody takes centre stage, Carmichael’s new album features four of his closest friends and long-term collaborators. The quintet, playing together since they were teenagers, have developed a special chemistry grounded in collective improvisation. His most ambitious work to date, Dancing With Embers sees the saxophonist expand his soundworld with guests Rachel Sermanni (voice), Brìghde Chaimbeul (small pipes), Chris Amer and Innes White (guitars) alongside his core quintet including pianist Fergus McCreadie.

The record’s warm, intimate sound leans more into influences from singer-songwriters such as Adrienne Lenker and Bon Iver than Carmichael’s previous works. He explains ‘I listened to more singer-songwriters than anything else in the time period I wrote Dancing with Embers and wanted to create an album where the focus is on the song and not so much on having any typical Jazz solos... on live gigs the band have free reign and improvisation is at the core, but I approached the recording of this album a little differently.’

All 12 original pieces originated from Carmichael improvising at the piano, which he plays on ‘a distant glow’ and ‘woodsmoke’, bookending the record. ‘I’d never recorded myself playing piano before this album and lack the technical skill I have on saxophone, but it felt natural to play on a few tracks. My way of processing emotions and meditating in some way is through improvising at the piano every day. I really like the intimate vulnerability of those tracks and give the listener a more direct insight into the creation of my music.’

Matt Carmichael, tenor saxophone, piano (tracks 1, 12)
Charlie Stewart, fiddle
Fergus McCreadie, piano
Ali Watson, double bass
Tom Potter, drums
Innes White, acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 11)
Chris Amer, electric- and tenor guitar (tracks 1, 5, 6, 10, 12)
Brìghde Chaimbeul, small pipes (tracks 7, 8)
Rachel Sermanni, vocal (track 10)

Recorded in Glasgow at Gorbals Sound (Kevin Burleigh/Matthew Boyle, July 2023) and at Solas Sound (Gus Stirrat, Feb 2024)
Mixed by James McMillan and Mastered by Michael Scherchen

Matt Carmichael
Welcomed as ‘a distinctive new voice in a crowded scene’ by BBC Music Magazine when he released his first album, Where Will the River Flow in March 2021, saxophonist Matt Carmichael has been making a big impression on audiences since he emerged on the Scottish jazz scene as a teenager with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.

Internationally regarded Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith recognised Matt’s potential early, inviting him to join his own youth jazz orchestra, and has described Matt as “better than I was at that age.”

Matt’s music reflects his Highland birthplace, Conon Bridge as the Scottish landscape and traditional music have shaped his compositions, with their lyrical and emotional qualities and the river-in-spate excitement of pieces such as The Spey.

A winner of the Peter Whittingham Development Award in 2019, Matt followed this by appearing in the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2020 final. Further accolades have emphasised his all-round capabilities as a musician. Just before he graduated in June 2021, he became the first student on the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s jazz course to win all three of the awards that are presented at the end of the academic year – for improvisation, composition and arranging.

Matt formed his quartet with multi-award-winning pianist Fergus McCreadie, bassist Ali Watson and Tom Potter, a winner of the UK-wide Young Drummer of the Year competition, in 2016. Their well-established teamwork was a feature of Where Will the River Flow and aligned with Matt’s expressive, forthright leadership it has earned them appearances at Ronnie Scott’s and festivals across the UK. The album has been 'longlisted' for the Scottish Album of the Year Award 2021 and recently, fiddler and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2017 Charlie Stewart has added an extra dimension to the band and underlined its music’s appealing Scottish lilt.

This album contains no booklet.