02 May 2025Traditional singing festival brings leading talents to Fife
The annual Fife Traditional Singing Festival takes place in Freuchie and Falkland over the weekend of 16th to 18th May.
Guests include Ellie Beaton, winner of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2025 title, Macdara Yeates, who won the recent RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards in Ireland, and Steve Turner, who first came to prominence with Geordie Band Canny Fettle and who accompanies his strong singing voice on cittern, mandolin and banjo.
Also appearing will be Kate Taylor from Aberdeenshire and concert hosts and Fife singing stalwarts, Pete Shepheard, Chris Miles and Jimmy Hutchison. As well as concerts, there are informal sessions and talks on topics related to traditional song and culture and a chance to participate in singarounds.
29 April 2025Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival announces 2025 programme
Guitarists Julian Lage, Martin Taylor & Ulf Wakenius and Nathan Somevi, pianists Joe Webb, Dave Milligan and Paul Harrison, and Peter Johnstone’s International Organ Quartet are among the attractions announced for Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, which runs from 11th to 20th July.
Joe Webb, who will be returning to Edinburgh to play solo piano at the Queen’s Hall in October, brings his trio to the festival, having made an outstanding appearance with trumpet star Wynton Marsalis in the city last August. Dave Milligan showcases his new band, Chroma, and Paul Harrison will play a concert inspired by Keith Jarrett’s famous Koln Concert.
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra’s Peter Johnstone presents music from his International Organ Quartet’s imminent debut album at St Brides on Friday 11th. The group comprises Johnstone on Hammond organ with New York vibes virtuoso Joe Locke, saxophonist Tommy Smith and drummer Alyn Cosker. Johnstone and Smith play a duo concert later in the festival in tribute to pianist Chick Corea, one of Smith’s early champions when he moved to the U.S. as a teenager.
Pianist Pawel Kaczmarczyk is among a number of Polish musicians who will be visiting the festival and drummer Tom Bancroft leads the Playtime collective and guests in a tribute to saxophonist Henry Threadgill.
25 April 2025Jazz London Radio marks ten years in broadcasting
Jazz London Radio celebrates its tenth year as a broadcaster with a series of special programmes to be announced throughout April and May.
The station set out to offer its own signature style of broadcasting and has reached audiences across the world through programmes often presented by musicians and performers including pianist Andrea Vicari, trumpeter Chris Hodgkins, singer Filomena Campus, guitarist Deirdre Cartwright, and drummer Ollie Howell.
Weekly shows cover styles including Big Band Jazz, Classic Jazz, Electronica, Jazz Rock, Jazz Funk, Latin Music, Rock and Blues, and World Music. The station also supports female instrumentalists and dedicates extensive programming to International Women's Day.
25 April 2025Glasgow's corto.alto achieve double success at Jazz FM Awards
Glasgow’s corto.alto have scooped two awards at the Jazz FM Awards 2025, which were presented at a ceremony in London in association with PPL and PRS for Music.
Fronted by multi-instrumentalist, and trombonist with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Liam Shortall, corto.alto won the Innovation Awards and the UK Jazz Act of the Year title, which was decided by public vote.
There were awards also for Ezra Collective, whose Dance, No-One’s Watching won the Album of the Year prize, also by public vote, and drummer Billy Cobham, who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Women in Jazz won the Collaboration Award and singer, pianist and radio presenter Jamie Cullum was presented with the Impact Award.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Lifetime Achievement Award- Billy Cobham
Impact Award, Sponsored by: Raymond Weil Genève - Jamie Cullum
Gold Award - Melody Gardot
UK Jazz Act of the Year, Sponsored by: Rathbones - corto.alto
Album of the Year, Sponsored by: Rayo - Ezra Collective, Dance, No-One's Watching
Breakthrough Act of the Year, Sponsored by: Arts Council England - Ni Maxine
International Jazz Act of the Year, Sponsored by: Saint Lucia Tourism Authority - Lakecia Benjamin
Vocalist of the Year, Sponsored by: Sounds from Spain by ICEX - Alice Zawadzki
Instrumentalist of the Year, Sponsored by: Yamaha UK - Mark Kavuma
Soul Act of the Year, Sponsored by: Oanda - Jalen Ngonda
Blues Act of the Year - Shemekia Copeland
The Innovation Award, Sponsored by: Mishcon de Reya - corto.alto
The Collaboration Award, Sponsored by: Cash For Kids - Women in Jazz
17 April 2025Glasgow Jazz Festival announces programme for 39th edition
Brian Jackson, the keyboardist, flautist and writing partner of rap godfather Gil Scott Heron, is among the attractions announced for Glasgow Jazz Festival’s 39th edition, which runs in venues cross the city from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd June.
Pianist Neil Cowley’s trio, Glasgow-based collective Fat-Suit and the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra also appear in an international programme that includes musicians from New Orleans, London and Liverpool alongside local talents, hot club quartet Rose Room, saxophonist Matt Carmichael, drummers Graham Costello and Stephen Henderson and trumpeter Colin Steele.
Festival director Jill Rodger said: “Scotland’s jazz scene has never been so buoyant, and Glasgow has become a bustling hub of creativity and cutting-edge collaboration among jazz musicians – so it’s only right that our 2025 programme celebrates the incredible talent to be found here. I’m also very excited to be presenting a wealth of global acts, with artists coming in from locations like New Orleans and Brazil. I would encourage music fans across the city to come out and discover something new this summer – there will be beats to satisfy all tastes on display at venues big and small across Glasgow.”
15 April 2025Testimony bears witness to Bancroft's solo saxophone mastery
solo saxophone, as the 6th release on his Myriad Streams platform on
Friday 25th April.
Recorded during lockdown in 2021 in a barn on the smallholding he and
his wife, Jude, had recently moved into, Testimony was musically
completely unplanned and spontaneous.
“I was exploring the amazing acoustics of the barn and trying to learn how
to make videos for social media,” says Bancroft. “So, I set up some
cameras and a nice microphone and thought, ‘Let’s see what happens...’”
After pressing the record buttons on his laptop and cameras, Bancroft
played his tenor saxophone for just over thirty minutes.
“I improvised with no intention or plan. To be honest, while I was playing, I
was feeling that the whole thing was a waste of time, that I couldn’t play,
my inner critic was in full flow.”
Suspecting that what he had recorded was worthless, Bancroft almost
deleted the file. But on listening back to it over the subsequent days, he
discovered that he had captured what he now considers the most
profound piece of music of his career to date.
Bancroft, who emerged as part of a generation of jazz musicians in
Scotland that was defined by the trailblazing John Rae Collective, in which
the saxophonist joined trumpeter Colin Steele, pianist Brian Kellock,
guitarist Kevin Mackenzie, bassist Kenny Ellis and drummer John Rae,
has been a force on the UK scene since the late 1980s.
He has led ensembles from trios to orchestras and multimedia projects,
and as well as fronting his acclaimed international quartet, with American
bassist Reid Anderson, Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen, and
English guitarist Mike Walker. He was a key part of the much-lauded Trio
AAB, with drumming twin Tom and guitarist Kevin Mackenzie. A recent
successful tour saw the launch of Bancroft's new trio, The Beautiful Storm
with guitarist Graeme Stephen and Indian percussionist Gyan Singh, with
whom Bancroft released the enthusiastically received duo album, Birth &
Death.
recent years and Bancroft, in taking on the role of storyteller and exploring
sound worlds of beauty and expression, hopes that Testimony has added
to this genre.
that is very much my own work that captures more than just the notes
formed in the moment and I am proud and excited to release it into the
world.”
14 April 2025Saxophonist Tommy Smith and harper Karen Marshalsay represent Scotland at Lichfield
Saxophonist Tommy Smith and harper Karen Marshalsay are among the attractions appearing at Lichfield Festival, which runs in the Staffordshire city from 8-20 July.
Lichfield is feted as one of the UK’s most eclectic multi-arts festivals with world-class artists, new talent, and local voices from music, theatre, dance, comedy and literature converging on venues across the city.
Popular folk act The Unthanks, Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley, the world-famous Black Dyke Band, choral group Tenebrae, and jazz singer Jacqui Dankworth with the Carducci Quartet all appear in Lichfield Cathedral.
Also in the Cathedral, renowned bass-baritone Sir Willard White and Brodsky Quartet join forces to present classics from the Great American Songbook and there are Cathedral dates for Strictly Come Dancing dancer-choreographer Neil Jones and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with exciting young violinist Hana Chang.
Tommy Smith, who is making his third appearance at the festival, will play solo saxophone in the Cathedral on Sunday 13th July and Karen Marshalsay presents traditional and original music on all three harps from the Scottish tradition in The Hub @ St Mary’s on Thursday 17th July.
26 March 2025Rhythm Rascals roar into Dundee for vintage swing concert
The Friends of Dundee Heritage Trust are staging a vintage swing and old-time jazz concert at Verdant Works on Saturday 17th May.
Featuring The Rhythm Rascals, a collective from London and Los Angeles comprising guitarist and banjo player Katie Cavera, bassist Hannah Rose Dexter, trumpeter Enrico Tomasso and pianist Joplin Parnell, the concert will be hosted by Radio North Angus presenter Richard Irvine and begins at 7:30pm.
Tickets, priced at £25, are on sale now through Eventbrite.
26 March 2025Report plots ways to ensure England swings
A cross-party Parliamentary focus group has published a review of jazz in England that sets out the way ahead for the music to flourish nationally over the next ten years.
The All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG), which sponsors the prestigious annual Parliamentary Jazz Awards, commissioned the report to shed light on the opportunities and challenges faced by one of the most vibrant components of the English arts scene.
Compiled by musician, radio presenter and former arts administrator Chris Hodgkins and musician and journalist Howard Lawes, the report draws on observations and input from some of the most experienced figures in jazz across England and provides an honest portrait of the jazz ecosystem, highlighting both areas of growth and the need for structural support.
"In recent years, the English jazz scene has grown more dynamic and multifaceted, encompassing a wide range of influences that resonate across generations and backgrounds," says APPJG chair, Chi Onwurah MP. "But while the spirit of jazz remains vibrant, our musicians, promoters, educators, and venues face unique pressures that have been intensified by economic and cultural shifts, not least the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic."
The report recommends measures including strengthening the music's support infrastructure and easing the effects of red tape to open up touring possibilities for musicians, both those seeking to work abroad and those from outside the country looking to play to local audiences.
"Like many creative industries, jazz faces considerable challenges including the effects of Brexit and the rapid evolution of technology," says Chi Onwurah. "This review offers timely insights into these changes, mapping the landscape of jazz from the perspectives of those who live, perform, and support the music. The Review of Jazz in England is a consultative green paper and the APPJG, whilst happy to receive thoughts and ideas, is very keen to see action. With this in mind, we urge the Government to act on the findings within and to engage with the sector to better understand the challenges and opportunities our sector faces"
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the Department of Culture, Media and Science Select Committee added: "I remain committed to advocating for policies that sustain and enhance the UK's cultural sector. Jazz is a reflection of our society - diverse, inventive, and resilient. Its future depends on bold and collaborative action, and it is our shared responsibility to ensure its prosperity for generations to come."
04 March 2025Argyll promoter announces Spring concert season
Melfort Music is bringing top line traditional and classical musicians to Kilmerford and Kilninver Village Hall in Argyll in a programme of concerts taking place from March to June.
Fiddler Lauren Collier and her band open the series on Saturday 15th March and other musicians booked include guitar-mandolin duo Jenn Butterworth & Laura Beth Salter, fiddle, harp cello, step dancing and vocal quartet Atlantic Crossing, fiddle master Duncan Chisholm with Hamish Napier, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Wind Soloists.
Founded by Matthew Anderson in 2024, Melfort Music's mission is to bring outstanding performers to Kilmelford, Melfort, and Netherlorne. The Spring season is being made possible thanks to sponsorship from local businesses and says Anderson, offers audiences a chance to experience the very best in folk, classical, and traditional music.
Tickets are available through Melfort Music's website.
26 February 2025Livia Records ushers in new era for Irish jazz
Dublin-based Livia Records releases its first album of a new era when saxophonist Michael Buckley’s Ebb and Flow hits the streets on Friday 28th February.
Set up originally to release the music of the late Irish jazz guitar virtuoso, Louis Stewart, Livia ceased trading with the death of its founder, Gerald Davis, in 2005. The label was reactivated by Dublin radio presenter and music enthusiast Dermot Rogers in 2021 and albums including Stewart’s legendary solo album, Out on His Own, and his debut recording, Louis the First, were re-released.
Following the release of a previously unknown duo recording by Stewart and the great American guitarist Jim Hall, Rogers moved to promote musicians on the current Irish scene.
Ebb and Flow, which features the vastly experienced Buckley alongside pianist Greg Felton, bassist Barry Donohue and drummer Shane O’Donovan, is launched at Arthur’s Blues and Jazz Club in Dublin on Thursday, 27th February.
It will be released in tandem with the reissue of Dublin pianist Jim Doherty’s Spondance, which was recorded in Los Angeles in 1986 and features Louis Stewart and Doherty in an octet with top LA players including trumpeter Bobby Shew and saxophonist Bob Sheppard.