jazz festival
listings
Information CONCERT VENUES
I Queen's Hall Clerk Street.
I Usher Hall Lothian Road.
I St Giles’ Cathedral High Street.
I Cotton Club University Staff Club, Chambers Street.
I Carriages Restaurant Caledonian Hotel, Princes Street.
I Tron Jan Cellar Tavern and Ceilidh House. Hunter Square.
I Cafe Graffiti Mansfield Place Church. East London Street.
I Ross Theatre Princes Street Gardens.
I Caledonian Brewery Statcford Road.
Advance tickets for all Jazz and Blues Festival concerts are available from The Queen's Hall Box Office, Clerk Street, 668 2019 (Ticket Hotline. 667 7776), or on the door. Concessions will be on sale from an hour before performance at the Queen's Hall, subject to availability. Credit card bookings attract a 50p surcharge. A Weekend Blues ticket is available for the Blues Festival at a special rate of £25.
I Cotton Club Opening Party University Staff Cltib. 7.30pm—1am. £8. Now that the Cavendish has dropped out. the University Staff Club. renamed the Cotton Cltib for the week. is the only multi-perforiiiance venue left in the festival. with simultaneous events in upstairs and downstairs spaces. Tonight's bill features strictly traditional fare from Mike Hart. Bill Salmond. Swing 97 and the Merseysippi Jazz Band. but this is where the mix and match policy of pitching traditional and mainstream musicians together in informal groupings - one of the crucial elements in the festival's distinctive identity will be maintained. while this year's partnership with Assembly Direct means that the Queen's Hall strand of the programme will look more than a little like their previous Round Midnight event (which will not happen this year as a result) laid on top.
I Craig McMurdo — Mr Wonderful Queen's Hall. 8.30pm. £15. £11). £9. ()nce a fixture on the Fringe. this will be the sitigct"s only festival appearance this year. He launches his new album. also called Mr liiillrlt’l'fllf. just prior to this concert. and will doubtless treat us all to copious selections from it. as well as delving back into his old favourites. That Swing Thang and The Swingettes provide their usual backing.
SATURDAY 2
I Commonwealth Mardi Gras The (,ii‘assiiiarket. 1 4pm. l‘ree. ()ne of the two big free events this weekend brings a host of bands and performers to play on lorries and floats in the Grassmarket. A good way to sample the fun. especially if the sun shines.
I Cotton Club University Staff Club. 7.30pm lam. £12. Acker Bilk is the main attraction in tonight‘s programme. and he can be heard twice. with the Comiiionwealtli All-Stars. featuring Bob Barnard and Jim (ialloway. Tonight‘s other attractions include the Australian Cajun hand Psycho Zydeco. Marty Gros‘z‘s inimitable guitar. vocals and hilarious repartce. Belfast’s Apex Jazz Band. and the Natiobi Trio.
I John Scofield Trio Queen's Hall. 8.3()piii. £14. £1 1. £9. A return visit from the guitarist is well overdue. and he brings with him a genuinely stellar trio. featuring Steve Swallow (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums). This. along with an
even more overdue return from Ralph Towner. is the contemporary jazz highlight of the festival. See preview.
I El Cometa All Stars Cafe Graffiti. 10.30pm. £6 (£5). Both cafe Graffiti and the Tron (see below) have been brought under the festival banner this year. providing both a club-style setting and a variation on the music programme. Tonight‘s 1,izzard Lounge offering features this sizzling eleven-piece Latin- jazz outfit.
I David Milligan Trio Tron Jazz Cellar. 11.30pm. £3 (£2). Pianist David Milligan and his trio provide sophisticated late- iiight 'azz.
I Spiegel Jazz 1997 Spiegeltent. Top of Waverely Centre. Princes Street. 558 8010. The tent warms up for the Fringe with a week ofgigs to coincide with the jazz festival. featuring free afternoon events and ticketed shows each evening. Among the artists appearing are Madam Pat and Her ()rkestra. George Washing Machine. The Hoodangas. and Ruby Fruit Jungle. suggesting that the emphasis will be on raucous fun rather than anything more serious. although the likes ofJohn Burgess and Makviraig will add a bit more musical weight. Check with venue for precise programme details.
I Commonwealth Jazz On A Summer’s Day Ross Theatre. 11am—6pm. The biggest free jazz event iii the UK always attracts large crowds to Princes Street Gardens. Like yesterday‘s Mardi Gras. it takes up the Commonwealth theme ahead of the conference later in the year. and begins as usual with a Gospel Service directed by the Reverend Alan Sorenson. The bands start at lpiii. and will include (in probable order) the lidinburgh Schools Jazz Band. Nairobi Trio. Criterion Parade Band. Psycho Zydeco. Apex Jazz Band. Commonwealth All Stars. and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence I"orce Steel Band.
I Cotton Club University Staff Club. 7.30pm—lam. £8. Tonight‘s programme is much like last nights. but minus Acker Bilk.
I Guy Barker Quintet Tron Jazz Cellar. 8pm. £8 (£6). Something of a coup for the Tron —- the trumpeter's top-notch quintet with Perico Sambeat (saxes). Bernardo Sassetti (piano). (ieoff (jascoyne (bass) and Gene Calderazzo (drums). was last heard in these parts at the Queen's Hall). and will provide a memorable close-quarters experience.
I Courtney Pine Queen‘s Hall. 3.30pm. £‘)-—£l3. Certain to be a sell-out. if previous appearances are anything to go by. This is the saxophonist's powerful
jazz-iiieets-drum ‘n' bass outfit. complete
with live DJs. with Courtney‘s juggernaut saxophone soaring across the crunching rhythmic foundation.
I Maira Kynne/Maiken lngvordsen Quartet Tron Jazz Cellar. 11.3()piii. £3 (£2). additional £1 discount to 8pm ticket holders. This Danish band. led by singer Maira Kynne. will be new to most people. btit their credentials are more than satisfactorily established by the quality of their bass player. the great Mads Vinding. who is not to be found associated with anything second-rate.
I Spiegel Jazz 1997 Spiegeltent. Top of Waverely Centre. Princes Street. 558 8010. See Sat 2.
MONDAY 4
Cotton Club University Staff Club. 7.30piii—lam. £10. Botli Jit11(ialloway and Marty (irosz are featured again tonight. but clarinet maestro Kenny Davern and trombonist Roy Williams are added to the bill. as is the New ()rleans- based singer Lillian Boutte.
I Tom McNiven Quintet Tron Ja/z Cellar. 8pm. £5 (£4). A chance to hear why the trumpeter saw off all-comers in the Scottish final of the UK Young Jazz. Musician competition earlier this year. and to wish him well for the UK final in
- listings EDINBURGH JAZZ rssnvn
Scott Hamilton: swinging with the stars and
SWING TRIBUTE
American Swing All Stars
Usher Hall, Wed 6Aug.
Mainstream swing has been the vehicle for many of the Edinburgh jazz festival's most memorable moments, and that is likely to be true again this year. The American Swing All Stars band pay tribute to Woody Herman in the Gala Concert which has all the makings of another eitceptional session.
Frankly, a band like this simply can't go wrong. The horn line-up features Scott Hamilton on tenor, our own Iim Galloway on soprano (I guess his '5 Canadian domicile almost qualifies him as an American All StarI), Warren Vache on comet, and George Masso on trombone, backed by an equally stellar rhythm section of Ralph Sutton (piano), Michael Moore (bass) and Jake Hanna (drums), with Lillian Boutte guesting on vocals.
Although best known for his big bands, Woody Herman also followed the fashion of the day and led a smaller band, the Woodchoppers. Igwas those reduced units which ultimately gave birth to the style dubbed 'ri‘lalnstmam‘. in the late 405 and early 505, and it has proved a resilient one. if you can't make the Gala, check out the Cotton Club programme, where many of these musicians are also featured. (Kenny Mathieson)
September. Tom leads his usual tight-knit bop quintet. with saxophonist Graeme Wilson as his front-line partner.
I Carol Kidd Sings Sinatra Queen‘s Hall. 8.30pm. £16. £12.50. £10. It remains to be seen how seriously the singer takes her remit here (I recall an earlier Sings Gershwin programme. sounding mighty like her usual set). but she unveiled some new material in her (ilasgow jazz festival residency at Bourbon Street in any case. and her fans won't really mind either way.
I Late Night Club Carriages Restaurant. 10.30pm» 1.30am. £5. Anew venue for the late night club. where the Alex Shaw Trio will preside. with guests sitting in.
I Maira KynnelMaiken lngvordsen Quartet Tron Jazz Cellar. 1 1.30pm. £3 (£2). additional £1 discount to 8pm ticket holders. See Sun 3.
I Spiegel Jan 1997 Spiegelteiit. Top of Waverely Centre. Princes Street. 558 8010. See Sat 3.
TUESDAY 5
I Cotton Club llniversity Staff Club. 7.3(lpiii---laiii. £10. Some genuine high quality mainstream music seems certain tonight. in a bill which includes a handful
of leading American names — Kenny Davern. George Masso. Jake Hanna. Harry Allen. Michael Moore — as well as Scottish expatriate Jim Galloway. and a couple of visitors from France. guitan'st Fapy 1.apertin and Claude Tissender's Saxomania.
I Bill Watrous and Brian Kellock Trio Tron Jazz Cellar. 8pm. £8 (£6). Trombonist Bill Watrous is one of the leading exponents of the instrument working in mainstream jazz. and his meeting with the Brian Kellock Trio should produce sparks.
I Carol Kidd Sings Sinatra Queen’s Hall. 8.30pm. £16. £12.50. £10. See Mon
4.
I Late Night Club Carriages Restaurant. 10.30pm—1.30am. £5. See Mon 4.
I Brian Kellock Trio Tron Jazz Cellar. 11.30pm. £3 (£2). additional £1 discount to 8pm ticket holders. Scotland's most exciting pianist takes over the late slot from David Milligan. but only for tonight.
I Spiegel Jan 1997 Spiegeltent. Top of Waverely Centre. Princes Street. 558 8010. See Sat 2.
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25 Jul—7 Aug 1997 THE U8T53
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