AGENDA
Edinburgh looks goo with Fringe o top
Ambient techno superstars Orbital will play Princes Street Gardens as part of the Flux Festival at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The dancefloor duo's open-air gig on Fri 13 Aug has been specially devised for Edinburgh, and is but one of thousands of shows that will transform the capital throughout August.
As the newly unveiled Fringe programme reveals, this year's event - the last of the millennium - will pack in visiting acts from every corner of the globe. From South Africa to the Palladium comes Gumboots, an infectious blend of music and dance that has its origins in the pre- Apartheid gold mines of Soweto. Seen for the first time outside of Korea, Cookin’ follows four frenetic chefs in the Observer Assembly Ballroom as they prepare a wedding banquet against the clock, mixing martial arts. traditional drumming and expertly prepared cuisine. And award-winning play Krishnan’s Dairy travels from New Zealand to the Traverse Theatre to tell of the dreams of a couple trying to set up an Indian corner shop in a rather unlikely setting.
New Zealand also plays a part in Bleach, a co- production between theatre company Trouble and Scotland's Boilerhouse. Following its world premiere at the Wellington Fringe Festival, Bleach - 'a hypnotic and poetic journey . . . that combines epic imagery with a montage style' - comes to Graffiti, before moving to a mystery location in Glasgow in September.
As it would appear that the world is coming to the Fringe, it is only fair that the Fringe goes back out to the world; and so Festival Revue will again be broadcasting live from Princes Street Gardens via cable TV, the Internet (at festivalrevue.com),and, for the first time, a giant video screen in London‘s Covent Garden. The organisers aim to present over 700 live performances, 400 digital video and computer art exhibits, as well as world film premieres and music events, running live twelve hours each day (with a twelve hour repeat) between 7-29 Aug. The Covent Garden screen will run for the last two weeks of the Fringe.
Lx .1; Next issue of The List will contain further details of the Fringe programme, including exclusive disclosure of additional Flux events, as well as news of the 1999 Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Book Festival. (Alan Morrison) @ Fringe Box Office, 780 High Street, Edinburgh, EH7 105. Postal bookings from Mon 74 Jun; telephone bookings (073i 226 5738) from Mon 27 Jun (Mon—Sat, lOam—6pm), counter service from Mon 26 Jul.
Jazz fills the night air at capital fest
Dr John visits the 1999 Edinburgh International Jazz Festival
The Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival has always been a traditional and mainstream jazz stronghold, but the festival's director, Mike Hart, made concerted efforts to introduce more modern styles over the last decade. That process has been taken forward again since Assembly
Direct became joint producers of the festival two years ago.
One of its most visible manifestations will be the introduction of a major new outdoor event, which will take place in Princes Street Gardens on Sun 1 Aug. Jazz On A Summer's Evening will follow on from the well established Jazz On A Summer's Day in the afternoon, which attracts the biggest audience for any single UK jazz event. Roger Spence, the co-director of Assembly Direct, explains that the focus will be on youth.
'The festival already had both the Mardi Gras and Jazz On A Summer‘s Day dedicated to older styles of jazz, and we decided to take advantage of having the infrastructure in the Gardens to extend the "modernising" process and offer something for a younger audience as well. Like the other two, the event will be free, which is only possible through our sponsorship from the Bank of Scotland.’
Jazz On A Summer's Evening will
feature three bands working in more contemporary dance-orientated styles. The Salsa Celtica Big Band, Groove Diggers and Paul Harrison's Yumbambe will provide the live grooves, and will be supplemented by DJs from Lizzard Lounge and Club Latino. Admission to the Ross Theatre itself will be by ticket only - free from The Queen's Hall box office (0131 668 2019).
The festival itself, which runs from 30 July to 8 August, offers what Spence sees as an 'evolution', in which specialist jazz fans will find plenty to excite them, while a more general audience will be drawn in by the likes of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Van Morrison and Dr John. The festival's trademark mixing of musicians in unfamiliar combinations will be extended to encompass more modern styles, and the education programme will also be expanded. Full programme details are now available from the Queen's Hall box office or the Jazz Festival (0131 225 2202).
(Kenny Mathieson)
AGENDA
The Scottish Inquisition
Questions you don't expect. This issue: Aly Burt. Events Manager; Edinburgh Waterstone ‘s. Broadsheet or tabloid?
Hera/d for news, Record for sport. First arts/medialmusic related job? Taking the rubbish out at Milngavie Bookshop, aged fourteen.
What is your career highlight?
Being made manager of Milngavie Bookshop, aged 21.
The award for a lifetime contribution to Scottish culture goes to?
Stephen Pastel: for music and bookselling.
Name a work of art that you cannot live without . . .
'Christ Of Saint John Of The Cross’ by Dali; anything on Chemikal Underground.
. . . and a law that you are proud to have broken?
I'm a clean living soul as all my friends will tell you.
You're about to be exiled - where and how would you spend your last night?
Nice ’n’ Sleazy's with my mate Andy, watching a triple bill of Arab Strap, Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian, drinking Buckie.
Glasgow: City of Architecture 8: Design. But which Scottish building would you like destroyed?
That terrible pink monstrosity on top of the flyover at Charing X.
What motion would you make as an MSP?
Free eye tests and dental care and no tuition fees. Like Lib-Dem before Lib- Lab.
Top Scot of the new Millennium? Tommy Sheridan. I don't agree with his politics but he is the wildcard in the new Parliament.
What should be in the Millennium Dome?
Alton Towers. Then people might pay to go in.
How do you see Scotland's future? In its kids.
(Compiled by Brian Donaldson)
10—24 Jun 1999 TIIEU8T19