This latest release finds Molley’s group fully immersed, working with a quartet of leading Rajasthani traditional musicians in a custom-built studio in the western Rajasthani desert.

It’s a productive and rewarding relationship as both sets of musicians are able to express themselves in their own musical languages and to interact with one another, trading phrases, combining on extended melodies and improvising together with a genuinely mutual understanding.

Asin Langa is a marvellously agile, soulful vocalist and a master of the sarangi, the three-string, bowed instrument that gives the album a very distinctive quality. His fellow Rajasthanis bring various drums and percussion instruments including the khartal, a wooden clapper, and the jew’s harp-like morchang to the ensemble sound.

The effect can be both sedate and animated as the music flows between Molley’s essentially melodic compositions and the variously loping and supercharged rhythms. The opening Cottonpolis/Dhologee combines a groove reminiscent of Molley’s youthful interest in Manchester’s indie music scene with a lilting traditional Rajasthani song and features typically concise tenor saxophone phrasing as all eight musicians drive towards the coda.

Kama finds Molley operating as a fifth member of Langa’s group, luxuriating in its folk song melody, and Journeys in Hand in Hand, a track originally found on Molley’s second album and redolent of Indian music melodically, features the superb Tom Gibbs digging in on piano as the two groups resume their conversation.

Gibbs is also to the fore on Parapraxis/Livar Jivaro, another Scottish-Rajasthani medley that features a wonderfully intense vocal from Langa and a full-bodied call and response between Molley’s tenor and Langa’s sarangi. These tracks, along with Two City Tales, which depicts the musicians’ respective hometowns of Glasgow and Jodhpur with contrasting characteristics and strong interaction, represent a musical relationship that works very effectively and sounds as if it has much more still to be discovered.

Journeys is released today 7 February 2025

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Kay chose the duo after hearing Shetland-born saxophonist Norman Willmore’s debut album, Alive and Well at the Muckle Roe Hall.

“I loved Norman’s approach to improvising and the way his group worked with the Shetland tradition and other folk influences on that album,” says Kay.

Willmore, a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s jazz course, has since joined forces with drummer-percussionist Corrie Dick, who, like Kay, is a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and a former member of the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Norman&Corrie launched their debut album, Twa Double Doubles, to an enthusiastic reception at EFG London Jazz Festival in November and have since won more admirers at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.

“I’ve been listening to their album a lot,” says Kay. “I love the way they interact spontaneously and create music that’s daring but also very melodic, again with that Shetland influence. I’m looking forward so much to hearing them live.”

Kay’s own group features an especially familiar rhythm section as pianist Peter Johnstone, bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer Alyn Cosker all play with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, as does Kay. They arrive at the Queen’s Hall fresh from the SNJO’s latest project, “Nu-Age Sounds: Planet World”, a suite for which Kay composed one of the movements.

“We’ve played in the Queen’s Hall often with the SNJO and it’s a fantastic venue but this is the first time we’ll have played there as a quartet,” says Kay. “It’ll feel quite different having just the four of us onstage instead of being part of a sixteen-piece ensemble. We’ll have so much room to work in!”

The post Helena Kay Quartet – ‘Golden Sands Revisited’ + Norman&Corrie first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Several esteemed guest musicians add further valuable colour to Songs of the Roma: singer-violinist Masha Natanson from Lublin, Poland, who reportedly “ran away from home at the age of 15 to learn the genuine traditional music of the Carpathian and Romany communities”; as well as two musicians originally from Budapest, cimbalom maestro Gyula “Julius” Csik and double bassist Gyula Lázár.

The eight-track album is a mix of new takes on traditional Roma tunes, and new compositions by Thacker. It is a richly-hued album, strikingly lyrical and high-octane, with multiple flamenco and other related styles and many a dramatic flourish. Many traditional Roma tunes are to be heard, with their hum-along melodies that burrow their way into the listener’s mind. I enjoyed the Arab-sounding Ibrahim, as well as the searingly sad Ederlezi.

Two tunes, Jolta and the final Phirado (Romani for wanderer or wooed) are new compositions by Thacker. The piece starts with contained walking bass but quickly careers into eccentricity, Csik’s cimbalom adding extra interest.

With its energy and emotional intensity, Songs of the Roma is an absolute delight, and the level of detail, technical virtuosity and lyricism merit repeated listening. Itis accompanied by a booklet giving detailed background information and translations of the lyrics.

The post Simon Thacker and Justyna Jablonska – ‘Songs of the Roma’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Joined by Carmichael, together with Alan Benzie on piano and Greg Irons, drums, Watson weaves a gentle meander through the themes. There is an upbeat feel throughout the album, which is full of lovely music from start to finish. There is a slight influence of Scottish folk music, and in common with Carmichael and, for instance, Fergus McCreadie, Watson takes inspiration from the Scottish environment: the album heralds titles such as Glen, Moss, Earth and Snow Drift. Watson’s take is distinctive, though taking what seems a more mellow approach.

Watson’s writing provides lots of room for the musicians to improvise, and all four make significant contributions. It is particularly pleasing to hear Benzie’s playing: a keystone of the Scottish scene for many years, he has made relatively few appearances on record. Carmichael presents a softer side to his playing, in keeping with the gentle mood.

Watson’s own playing is excellent. Earth is an extended bass solo, aside from some embellishment from Benzie and Irons, and is one of the many highlights of this successful record.

Ali Watson Quartet are appearing at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh on 25 November 2024.

The post Ali Watson – ‘Terrarium’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Kurt Elling, who is almost as renowned for his adventurous song choices as he is for his sensational vocal talent and the richness of his voice, has opted for a blend of the familiar and not-so-familiar for the tour.

Among the words he’ll be singing are the ones he set to Carla Bley’s Lawns and Jaco Pastorius’s Three Views of a Secret. He’ll also revisit the energising vocalese with attitude that Nina Clark gave to John Scofield’s Jeep on 35, which was released on video by the SNJO during the pandemic.

Joe Jackson’s 1980s hit Steppin’ Out, which Elling recorded on his album The Gate, lends the tour a theme song that for SNJO artistic director Tommy Smith, is entirely appropriate.

“Kurt Elling is a phenomenon,” says Smith. “Since 2012 he has collaborated with us on a series of captivating and diverse programmes. From honouring the legendary Frank Sinatra to crafting the seasonal spiritual experience of Spirit of Light and delving into profound philosophical themes in works such as Apparition Bridge and Syntopicon, Elling’s artistic vision knows no bounds.”

Recognition for Elling’s talents has been plentiful. In the US he has won two Grammy Awards, having been nominated sixteen times, and he topped Downbeat’s Critics Poll on fourteen consecutive occasions from 2000 to 2013, subsequently adding to this success. He has also won three Prix du Jazz Vocal in France, two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards and the International Jazz Artist of the Year title at the Jazz FM Awards.

“As well as putting his own stamp on established songs including, in these concerts, Come Fly with Me and You Are Too Beautiful, Elling has written definitive lyrics for tunes by jazz masters including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist-composer Carla Bley and the revolutionary bassist Jaco Pastorius,” says Smith. “We’re looking forward to delivering these with him in vibrant orchestral arrangements.”  

The tour begins in Elgin Town Hall on Thursday 26^th September as part of Findhorn Bay Festival and continues in Perth Concert Hall on Friday 27^th, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 28^th and Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on Sunday 29^th.

“This is a really exciting way to open our 2024/25 season,” says Smith. “Working with Kurt Elling is always inspiring and his choice of material for these concerts is sure to stimulate our audiences and musicians alike. Steppin’ Out promises both the reassuringly familiar and, as jazz was once famously described, the sound of surprise.”

LINK: Full details of all four concerts and bookings

The post Kurt Elling with SNJO – Elgin, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, 26-29 September first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Helena Kay will relive a moment from her teens when she joins pianist Zoe Rahman onstage at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh on Thursday 19 September.

The saxophonist and Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate first met Rahman after a concert with Courtney Pine when she was still at school.

“My mum, who is also a big fan of Zoe’s, made sure we both went to meet Zoe after the gig,” says Kay. “It was so inspiring for me to meet Zoe at that stage in my musical life. The sixteen-year-old me wouldn’t believe that we’re sharing the stage now.”Il

Rahman headlines the first in a series of concerts that Kay has curated at the Queen’s Hall over the next year under the Jazz Thursdays heading. The pianist will play a solo set before Kay joins her in a duo.

“I’ve played in Zoe’s octet, which was a fantastic experience,” says Kay. “So I’m looking forward to working with her again.”

Perth-born Kay, a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year who has since become a City Music Foundation Artist and winner of the Drake YolanDa Award 2023, has played on the Queen’s Hall stage frequently as a member of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

“The Jazz Thursdays series is a fantastic opportunity to work in a venue that is so rich in jazz history,” Kay says. “When I’ve played there with the SNJO, I’ve always been aware that I’m following in illustrious footsteps. The brilliant composer and pianist Carla Bley and saxophone legend Sonny Rollins are just two of the people I admire who have appeared there. So to play on that same stage with some of my heroes is really special.”

Following the concert with Zoe Rahman, Kay has chosen several other musicians for the series who have been an inspiration, including the saxophonists Laura Macdonald and Tommy Smith and violinist Seonaid Aitken, with whose string ensemble Kay is the featured soloist. The Glasgow-based Ghanaian guitarist Nathan Somevi and folk-jazz duo Norman&Corrie (saxophonist Norman Willmore and drummer-percussionist Corrie Dick) also feature in The Jazz Thursdays programme.

Kay and Rahman took advantage of their schedules allowing them to meet up earlier in the summer and have rehearsed in advance of their debut together at the Queen’s Hall. “Zoe is so brilliant to play duos with,” says Kay. “It’s almost like playing in her octet. She puts so much energy and passion into her playing and her flow of ideas is amazing. It really makes you want to play.”

The post Helena Kay + Zoe Rahman in Edinburgh, 19 Sep. first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Described as a mixed bill of music and conversation that invited ticket holders to pull up an armchair and enjoy the sociable atmosphere of the festival’s home at the top of the Royal Mile, this session found the musicians mostly letting their musical brilliance doing the talking.

Marsalis can be an affable and entertaining host, slipping memories of his father, Ellis, Dizzy Gilliespie and Louis Armstrong into his introductions. He wears his trumpet virtuosity lightly, almost casually, but the chops were astonishing. In the opening Oh Lady Be Good, we were treated to a startling repertoire of glides and slides, improbably paced, is-he-ever-going-to-breathe lines and brief asides, all imbued with an unerring sense of swing and a rich feeling of the blues allied to sure musical logic.

With the now sixty-two-year-old master was a trio of younger, but also masterly musicians. Pianist Joe Webb has the whole history of jazz piano at his fingertips, and frequently in his solos, a quality that was illustrated perfectly by his Hamstrings and Hurricanes, a kind of Joplin to McCoy and beyond feature initially for trio but whose intricate melody Marsalis joined in on for the coda.

Bassist Will Sach and drummer Francesco Ciniglio presented contrasting personalities. The former was all quiet assurance whatever the tempo, the Neapolitan Ciniglio a more flamboyant and characterful presence but one whose use of the drum rims and sundry hardware was entirely at the service of the music.

The promised conversation could be said to have been delivered with Marsalis’ own Free to Be, with the trumpeter and pianist confiding in each other through mischievous phrases and punctuations, and on Dizzy Gillespie’s Wheatleigh Hall, a blues where Marsalis’ muted playing led and conversed with the trio individually and collectively.

Two guests brought out even more of the quartet’s personalities. Marsalis’ daughter, Oni, sang a remarkably mature Body and Soul to an accompaniment that was measured with slide rule precision and the Brazilian genius (Marsalis’ description) Hamilton de Holanda, as the trumpeter promised, lifted the soul quotient in the room.

De Holanda’s bandolim – a ten-string mandolin – has sat easily alongside Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani’s piano playing and here it expanded Marsalis’ quartet into a mini orchestra.

“You’ll know this tune,” said Marsalis before de Holanda sang the intro to Girl from Ipanema. We probably all knew the next tune, too, One Note Samba, but if these were arguably the most obvious illustrations available of Brazilian culture, they were delivered as if freshly minted.

The sheer clarity, shape and invention of de Holanda’s improvisations were a joy and when he and Marsalis traded fours you could feel the friendship. This was no sparring contest. It was two guys making exceptional music for fun in what might well be a contender for jazz gig of the year hereabouts.

This concert was filmed for Sky Arts and will be broadcast on 1 October at 10pm, and was supported by Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady Brown and Flure Grossart.

The post Wynton Marsalis Quartet with Hamilton de Holanda in Edinburgh first appeared on UK Jazz News.

• Entrants must be aged between 18 and 27 (inclusive) as of 29th July 2024
• Entrants must currently reside in Scotland and must have resided in Scotland for at least 1 year immediately prior to 22 September 2024.
• The winner will take part in a recording session at BBC Scotland plus have the opportunity to perform at an event organised by the Glasgow Jazz Festival team. 
• Hosted by Seonaid Aitken, the finals of the award will be held at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay in Glasgow on Sunday 24 November 2024 in front of a live audience and broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland.  
• Closing Date for applications is Sunday 15 September 2024 (23.59)

The press release gives background:

“The award is intended to encourage and highlight the wealth of talent in Scotland’s vibrant jazz scene. It sits alongside BBC Radio Scotland’s awards for Young Trad and Young Classical musicians, as well as BBC Introducing’s search for the best in contemporary music.  

“Young musicians living in Scotland who are between the ages of 18 and 27 will be invited to apply from 29 th July 2024 by completing our online form and uploading 10 minutes of themselves playing jazz to the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician website (link below). We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background,
religion and/or belief. If you need any reasonable adjustments contact youngjazz@bbc.co.uk ”

(quote from press release ends)

The post BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician competition 2024 open for entries first appeared on UK Jazz News.

It’s the middle of July, and the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival comes around again: ten days crammed with interesting music – so much so that the inevitable clashes mean hard choices have to be made.

Usually this would preclude local musicians. But the Edinburgh institution that is Playtime, whose regular gig could hardly be more local for me, brings special guests to the festival. Celebrating their tenth anniversary with a new record, their guest this time was trumpeter Byron Wallen, one of several who feature on the record. They played three varied, written compositions, one each by Tom Bancroft, Martin Kershaw and Wallen himself, interspersed with two wholly improvised pieces. The latter were powerful and moving, as they were conjured art from nothing; one saw Wallen lay down his trumpet in favour of conch shells, producing eery calls over an evolving groove from the bass and guitar combination of Mario Caribe and Graeme Stephen respectively. The only thing wrong with the set is that I wanted it to go on and on.

But that would have meant missing sax star (and Radio 3 jazz host) Soweto Kinch. Backed by Nick Jurd on bass and Louis Hamilton-Foad on drums, and with samples, effects and the occasional backing track, Kinch played alto and tenor saxes, a wind synthesiser and rapped – all to the audience’s delight. His rapping is an integral part of his performance – a different kind of improvisation – his clever rhymes highlighting passionate political themes. His use of effects to loop his saxes as he goes along resulted in a rich sound – at times a choir of saxophones – but his unadorned tenor, accompanied just by the bass, was perfect in a beautiful rendition of Lush Life, too. The trio played a hugely entertaining set in front of a full house, showing why they’re festival favourites.

EJ&BF specialise in commissioning new projects and music. Matthew Kilner presented the premiere of his four-part Culkein Bay Suite and several other original tunes with his new quartet of Paul Harrison (piano), Ewan Hastie (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums). Kilner was open about his influences – I picked up hints of Wayne Shorter, Coltrane and Ellington, whilst one piece was dedicated to Paul Motian and another to Peanuts Hucko. Most of the music was spritely post-bop, but there were some beautiful moments, too – the last segment of the suite featured an emotional duet between the tenor and piano, and later on there was some powerful, melancholy sax. Harrison, Hastie and Cosker played with the excellence one would expect from such musicians; the quartet are going into the studio soon to record this material, so there’ll be more chances to hear it.

Many of the gigs in the festival focused on the intersection between folk and jazz music, partly because much of the native Scottish scene exists in that liminal environment, but also because trumpeter Laura Jurd was the guest curator for a series of concerts themed “From Folk To Freedom”. Jurd herself premiered a new quintet featuring Martin Green, part of new-folk band Lau, on accordion and electronics, fiddler Ultan O’Brien, with Ruth Goller on bass and ever-rewarding Corrie Dick on drums. The relationship between Goller and Dick seemed to work superbly, keeping the music grounded but fluid. In keeping with Jurd’s theme, there were many free sections: spontaneity was to the fore; some passages brought to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, others the gentle folk-infused improvisations of Henri Texier.

Jurd and Dick were also part of the Norman Willmore Sextet, playing tunes from his 2023 album For All Your Needs. That has a distinct folk feel, but the addition of Jurd and Dick brought out the jazz inherent in the pieces too. Willmore’s alto playing was exciting and seemed to span the instrument’s capabilities, from melancholic, keening foghorn through to raucous euphoria. Shetlandic pianist Amy Laurenson played some beautiful, thoughtful passages. Fiddler Harry Gorski-Brown and bassist Brodie Laird-Jarvie, both of whom appear on the album, completed the sextet with some great playing.

Tim Garland’s Lighthouse Trio also had a folk element, albeit one rooted in the Middle East: percussionist Asaf Sirkis was playing an eclectic drum kit comprising a range of frame drums and cymbals, as well as a terracotta udu which was used to haunting effect. They mostly played pieces from their latest album, Moment of Departure, which cut back to the trio alone shone with new clarity. Sirkis’ playing was a revelation – it was the first time I had seen him live. He spent most of the show with a broad grin on his face – something infectiously joyous about the music. At times Garland and pianist Gwilym Simcock made it a percussion trio, Simcock beating the innards of his piano and Garland using his saxophone keys in sympathy with Sirkis’ rhythms. Garland also used the piano to great effect, blowing right into its body for the strings to resonate on Kenny Wheeler’s Sly Eyes. As well as Sirkis, Simcock and Garland seemed on their top form, producing some remarkable music. The empathy between the musicians was exceptional. In a festival packed with superb music, the Lighthouse Trio was an absolute treat.

The post Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 2024 first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Three jazz students – Drummer Roan Anderson, from Inverclyde, bass guitarist Chris Quinn, from East Kilbride, and guitarist Sam Cleary, from Cambridgeshire – share the £8500 Alan McAulay Award for Career Development

Drummer Dillon Barrie, from Perthshire, wins the George Duncan Award for Jazz Composition and a cash prize of £1000 and Sam Cleary also wins the award for Jazz Improvisation, which is sponsored by UK Jazz News contributor Mark McKergow and comes with a cash prize of £500.

“Dillon’s award for composition and Sam’s for improvisation reflect the high standard of their final recitals, which were judged by trombonist Dennis Rollins MBE and myself,” says RCS Head of Jazz, saxophonist Tommy Smith. “I’m extremely proud of all this year’s award winners. Looking ahead, we have an incredibly talented and diverse group of musicians – both male and female – coming through the programme. I’m confident many of them will be strong contenders for future awards.”

All four award winners are already experienced musicians. Roan Anderson has worked in both big bands and smaller ensembles and runs a successful online tuition business. Chris Quinn leads his own band, Niche Market, in which he sings as well as playing bass guitar. Sam Cleary has been wowing audiences with his expressive, extrovert guitar playing in the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra over the past two years and Dillon Barrie has added work as producer of hip hop and jazz fusion to his experience in youth orchestras and symphony orchestras and an appearance with world leading solo percussionist, Dame Evelyn Glennie.

“We’re grateful to our sponsors for their invaluable support,” says Tommy Smith. “George and Mark are real jazz enthusiasts, as was Alan, and the awards offer students, not just financial assistance but encouragement and a sense of achievement at this stage in their careers.”

The post Roan Anderson, Chris Quinn, Sam Cleary, Dillon Barrie win RCS Year-End Awards first appeared on UK Jazz News.