HOTLY tipped as a future jazz great, Tommy Andrews includes Southampton on a homecoming tour to promote his much anticipated debut release.

The Crux is the first album from the Tommy Andrews Quintet and is set for international release at the end of this month amidst a string of dates in the city, London, Poole and Salisbury.

The quintet features some of the UK’s finest young players, with a rapidly increasing reputation for engaging listeners with all manner of musical tastes.

The summer tour will be something of a homecoming tour for Tommy, who grew up on the edge of the New Forest and attended Forres Sandle Manor School and Bishop Wordsworth’s School, Salisbury, before attending music school in London.

Organisations and groups such as Salisbury Area Young Musicians (SAYM), the Forest Youth Jazz Orchestra (FYJO), Salisbury Music Festival and Dorset Young Musician of the Year (Winner, 1999) were pivotal in his musical journey.

The quintet will be playing Tommy’s original compositions that feature on the album as well as premiering a new suite at gigs including Southampton Modern Jazz Club’s event at The Bent Brief on July 6.

Although only 25, Tommy has played with The BBC Big Band and the London and New York Jazz Orchestras, as well as supporting an eclectic array of world-class artists including Cleo Lane, Tim Garland, Mark Lockheart and the late Derek Watkins.

He also has a flourishing session career, appearing on programmes such as The X Factor and with pop group McFly.