Archive

We love presenting young musicians, and this year it’s a really special year. There’s so much high quality new talent coming through on the Scottish jazz scene, we’ve only been able to feature a few of the top names.

They’re almost forgotten. The singers who could sing blues, unamplified, over a swinging band. Jimmy Rushing, Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Joe Turner, Joe Williams. Listening to them now, you realise that rock n’roll started years before Bill Haley and Chuck Berry came along.

With over 170 concerts, nine iconic venues, 30 musicians from New Orleans, 2 Spiegeltents, 3 youth bands and more musical talent that seems possible, the 10 days of the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival offer a celebration of jazz and blues.

The sixth Edinburgh Festival Carnival is limbering up for its biggest – and brightest – year yet! The parade will begin the festivities on Sunday 16th July, leading 800 Carnival performers from the top of the Mound to the West End of Princes Street in an extravaganza of high-energy music and dazzling costumes!   The Parade running from

New York City’s oldest bar has been serving alcohol since 1817, and now the Soho institution is also renowned as the centre for hot jazz in the city. Every week, trumpet and cornet player, Jon Erik Kellso assembles a cast of the best swing and mainstream jazz musicians to play in spontaneous get togethers.

A winning blend of catchy melodies and grooving impetus, together with his soulful exuberance on alto saxophone, made Cannonball a hero of the 1960s ‘soul jazz’ movement.

Where did Jazz come from? How it did spring almost fully formed out of the New Orleans melting pot in 1917? The show with the answers is “Kaiser Bill Invented Jazz”. Dave Batchelor’s informative, entertaining, and often hugely moving show, with actors/visuals/dancers, and a 7 piece live band was called “a victory” by The Scotsman.