Jazz
| 16 August 2010
Brian Auger, acid jazz god and master of the Hammond, brings a flood of sentiment from the sixties in a room full of long-time admirers to the Voodoo Rooms with his Oblivion Express.| 06 August 2010
Few mediums are as good at evoking the spirit of the times as contemporary music. While this says very little about our current deficit of attention and obsession for youth, Swinging for Basie teases out the spirit, seduction and glamour of a musical genre formed from the melting pot the US in the 1930s. | 05 August 2010
Strutting in from the South Side of Chicago, the self-made and refreshingly entrepreneurial brothers of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble will challenge the way you think of brass bands, fusing rap, funk and ska. The word ‘unique’ is often bandied about willy-nilly by PR people and reviewers, but the dissonant chords produced by the group do instantly resonate as distinctive. Despite the usual frothy spiel about artistic influence and musical journeys, the music is indeed evocative of inner cities and Chicago; often slightly sinister, grimy or threatening, but also able to paint optimistic scenes of aspiration and excitement in urban America.
| 05 August 2010
It takes a mighty brave lady to musically commemorate the legendary Lady Day fifty years after her death; but then Niki King does not seem the type to shy away from a challenge. From the moment King kicked off her set with Lover, Come Back to Me, the natural and intense connection between herself and the audience, which varied from the chin-stroking jazz cognoscenti to hip-hop styled urbanistas, was palpable. In fact, one man was so lost in her heart-felt rendition of My Man that he was literally moved to tears.
| 03 August 2010
Melba Joyce continues to fall in and out of love. She probably shouldn’t be telling us stuff like this, but hey-ho. She continually intersperses her songs with some commendably frank personal feelings. How very honest; how very American. Unfortunately something of a communication barrier exists between North East Scotland and the north side of Manhattan, and her tales fail to resonate with the audience. Surely a bit cold and taciturn? No, wait, this is just Edinburgh.Musically Melba’s ‘good time jazz’ is the audio equivalent of a good mellow bourbon; audibly sliding around our senses, releasing warm, relaxing flavours. Shimmying around in a gorgeous gold dress against a deep blue curtain, Joyce has a genuineness and ease about her. Occasionally she is joined by trumpeter and assassin impersonator, Duke Heitger, who slips on stage in his tux, before screwing in a mute like a silencer on a pistol.
| 03 August 2010
Resembling a group of old mafia dons taking time out from their usual routine of playing dominos under olive trees and planning family business, Swing 2010 (featuring Fapy Django) brings ‘Gypsy Jazz’ to the Edinburgh Festival.
Despite the initially sleepy appearance of the group, there is some astonishingly accomplished guitar playing here. The genre has its roots with the Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt, who developed a unique blend of traditional gypsy music with American jazz music in the 1930s and 40s. It’s an undeniably catchy and uplifting style.
| 03 August 2010
The Lizard Lounge was the place to be in the 90s for anyone in Edinburgh with a penchant for hip-hop, jazz or salsa. Rarely operating at anything less than full capacity, the event attracted talent from across the globe.
Despite its history, the one-off celebration proved to be accessible, with Joe Malik, the Edinburgh based artist, providing the initial performance. This never ventured too far into the realms of musical obscurity or pretension. Indeed there is always a danger with jazz – and especially acts like ‘The Rhumba Caliente Afro Latin Soul Orchestra’ – that those less acquainted with the complex genealogy of the genre will be warded off by semantics.
| 03 August 2010
I always feel a pang of guilty pleasure entering the Voodoo Rooms at certain hours of the day. Through the drizzle and across the shiny wet cobble stones, past the stray cats lurking, drunks slumped and waitresses smoking fly fags; beyond the industrial sized bins and second hand smells wafting from restaurant kitchens: the scene has more than a whiff of the golden age of gangsters and jazz music.
Alas, the Moscow Mule drained before the show was blandly legal, and served by a bored T-shirt clad member of the iTunes generation. Nevertheless, the moody interior of the Voodoo Rooms is well chosen for an act like Melting Pot.
| 19 July 2010
China Moses was determined not to follow in her jazz singer mother’s footsteps – that is, until her secret love of Dinah Washington overcame her doubts.
China Moses may have begun her career as a fifteen-year-old soul and R’n’B singer and moved on to present the hip-hop show Shake Ton Booty on French television, but the songs she’ll be singing at the Jazz & Blues Festival are some of her earliest musical memories. Indeed, jazz is in her blood.
| 16 July 2010
TOMMY SMITHWhat is the best advice you have ever been given?
When I was 18 years old Gary Burton told me to keep my own publishing rights, not to sell them to Blue Note or EMI. That decision worked out very well. Chick Corea told me to breathe before I go out on stage and don’t fear the butterflies.
| 03 August 2009
Feed your ears
Harking back to the best of classic jazz while satisfying newcomers to the genre is a difficult trick, but trumpeter Roy Hargrove doesn’t seem to be struggling.
| 03 August 2009
Rockin’ the blues
Jack Bruce, the legendary bass guitarist of Cream, is on his way to Edinburgh with a supergroup that includes Procol Harum’s Robin Trower and jazz drummer Gary Husband.
