MERRI MAY
CABARET! eee
Just because Merri-May Gill frames her show as a session with a psychiatrist doesn't mean she's crazy. Neither does singing songs about towns in fridges and meetings with German chanteuses. What it means is that she's the latest in the proud tradition of Australian singing/comedy acts. of which Bob Downe and the Doug Anthony Allstars have been previous flag-bearers.
She's a captivating performer. expressive and confident. and the show is polished to a professional sheen. Her lyrics are frequently witty. often very funny. and occasionally sweet. although they sometimes lean too heavily in the Bridget Jones' Diary direction. A very 21 st century purveyor of the old-fashioned comic SOng. (DaVid Robertson) I Pleasance, 656 6550, until 26 Aug, 70. 75pm. £7—E8 (ES—£6).
FOLK
MAILNKY
Quality song without voguish distractions
lvlalinky make it back to Edinburgh fresh from Success. and the launCh
ECELCTICA "USA
“I [H .‘L
TAM WHITE’S SHOESTRING
BAND
The big man takes it to the bridge
The festival may be a chance for locals to sample the fruits of world culture, but it’s also a platform for showing off our own great institutions. And who would deny that title to Tam White, Scotland’s indefatigable, foremost bluesman?
' After his 60th birthday in July, White this year brings the formidable- Shoestring Band (the splendid Fraser Speirs on harmonica and Neil Warden on guitar) to a new venue, the congenial Bridge Jazz Bar. It’s far from unfamiliar territory, though: 50 years ago the Edinburgh man was a pupil at South Bridge school, and 30 years ago was forging his career in the blues at the Yellow Carvel. just round the corner.
With a film role likely in the autumn, an English tour and plans to set up a regular capital date with a new six-piece band afoot, this looks like a fine chance to catch a local hero in his prime.
(Ninian Dunnett) I l‘:lli/ ii- l.i. I'Lii. l/i: ,' ill/ii}, 'r'.
of their second album Three Ravens. at England's premier 'roots' event. the Cambridge Foik Fest'vai. The band's focus on song (there are three Singers) is a welcome antidote to the Current vogue for ali- instrumental aCid-Croft 0r ceilidh-funk bands. Malinky are happy With the classic post-Planxty
Urban hymns from genre-straddlers
acoustic textures: nae bongos or congas. drum kits. drum machines or Synths nere. The only skinned rim 5 a good Old-faShioneo bod'nran. and yes. in Spite of ail the ;okes. you can find good bodhran players. Based in Edinburgh. and boasting the f=nest yOung Scots singer in Karine Polwart. the band
Their name may be easily confused with those American interstellar explorers but these musical space cadets are on an altogether different mission: to mix old and new, pipes and decks and more.
The quintet employ pipes, bouzouki, guitars and percussion along side
the turntable skills of DJ Extra in a blend of contemporary urban and
traditional Scottish cultures to produce sound that can’t be pigeonholed, so the late night slot at the Queen’s Hall seems . appropriate. in short, making dance music in
" of the word. (Mark Robertson) " "Hall, 668 2019, 16
if .1, a; ‘
52 THI LIST PISTIVAL OUIDI ‘ 5—22 Aug 2032
Aug, 10.30pm, £8 (£6).
doesn't see itself as restricted to wholly Scottish music; Irish box player Leo McCann is the latest addition to their fiddle. bou20uki. guitar and whistle line- up. And while they compose a lot of their owp material. in c0nsistently interesting arrangements. and often with a contemporary
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pan-celtic feel. it's all Malinky music. (Norman Chalmers)
I Field Hall, 662 8740. 78 Aug, 7.75pm. £70 $8,.
JAZZ FOLK JOHN RAE’S CELTIC FEET
Happy feet
John Rae popped up all over the place
during the jazz festival, which is nothing new for the most in- demand drummer on the Scottish jazz scene. One of those gigs was a lunchtime outing for his own jazz- meets-folk outfit. Celtic Feet.
The players had that slightly startled look which afflicts jazz musicians when asked to play at that hour, but turned in a fine set. They should all be happier in the comforting gloom of Henry's for this Fringe residence.
‘Traditional music is great for melody and repetition. and then we add all the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities of jazz. I've always been interested in trying to mix them. although it would be easier just to have two bands?
Congratulations are in order for John, Kenny Ellis and Brian Kellock after their recent triumph in the Best Album category of the BBC UK Jazz Awards with - appropriately enough - the Brian Kellock Trio's Live at Henry's.
(Kenny Mathieson)
I Henry '3 Jazz Cellar, 467 5200, 27—24 Aug, 8.30pm, £6.