list.co.uk/music JAZZ
Events are listed by date, then by city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to henry@ list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Henry Northmore. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 15
Glasgow ■ Classic Jazz Orchestra The Glasgow Art Club, 185 Bath Street, 248 5210. 8pm. £10 (£8). Enjoy a modern interpretation of classic numbers from the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and more from Kenny Mathieson’s eight-piece band. FREE The Blokes Maggie May’s, 60 Trongate, 548 1350. 10pm. Blues and folk residency. Edinburgh FREE Ged Brockie & Doug Urquhart Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. Jazz guitar duo. ■ Snarky Puppy The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £12 in advance; £14 on the door (gig only). Brooklyn-based raw funk collective led by bassist and composer Michael League. The gig is preceded by a masterclass (£8 or £18 combined with gig ticket) at 4.30pm covering composition, arranging, ensemble playing and improv. FREE Jazz on the Mound Whiski Rooms, 4, 6 & 7 North Bank Street, 225 7224. 9pm. Funky jazz and blues. ■ Future Heroes The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 11.30pm. £3 (£2). Groovy funk four-piece with ace guitarist Aki Remally.
Friday 16
Glasgow ■ Seasonal Swing Sensation! Maryhill Burgh Halls, 10–24 Gairbraid Avenue, 945 1369. 8pm–midnight. £10. The Arthur Short Big Band provide the live music at this charity night for Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Glasgow Group. Tickets available from the RDA; please do not contact the venue. Edinburgh FREE Graham High Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. The guitarist is joined by guests playing Hot Club-style jazz. ■ Snarky Puppy and Mike Kaerney’s Ka-Tet The Bongo Club, Moray House, 37 Holyrood Road, 558 7604. 7pm. £tbc. An evening of primo grooves and funk courtesy of NY’s Snarky Puppy. ■ Jazz Bar Quartet The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £4 (£3). Jazz four-piece. FREE Whiski Trio/City Duo Whiski Rooms, 4, 6 & 7 North Bank Street, 225 7224. 9pm. Upbeat funky jazz and blues. ■ Late’n’Live The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 11.30pm– 3am. £5 (£4). Late night jazz and funk acts and DJs. Pumping rocky beats from The Hook & Slingers.
Saturday 17 Glasgow FREE Perdido Jazz Quartet DRAM!, 232–246 Woodlands Road, 332 1622. 3–5.30pm. Mainstream Latin jazz, swing and vocals. ■ History of Jazz Piano The 13th Note Café/Bar, 50–60 King Street, 553 1638. 8pm. £10. Celebrated educator and ace pianist Richard Michael gives his live outline of the history of the instrument that bebop great Bud Powell considered superior to any of the
JAZZ/IMPROV LONG WEEKEND GIO FEST V CCA, Glasgow, Thu 29 Nov–Sat 1 Dec
This year Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra celebrates a glorious decade of making it up as they go along. One of the joys of GIO is that you never quite know what to expect: a stramash of wailing horns and crashing percussion, or an alien landscape of vocal glossolalia and unidentifiable scrapings and scratchings? Maybe both, maybe neither. For the fifth annual GIO Fest, the band are reunited with three key collaborators: the great free improvising saxophonist, Evan Parker; vocalist and founder of the Feminist Improvising Group, Maggie Nicholls; and trombonist, composer and computer music pioneer George Lewis. Other highlights include the premiere of a new piece by avant-rock polymath Jim O’Rourke, a rare UK appearance from pianist Alex Von Schlippenbach’s mighty free jazz trio, and the first performance outside Lerwick of the Shetland Improvisers Orchestra.
GIO began when saxophonist Raymond MacDonald was asked to assemble 25 musicians to play with Evan Parker at the CCA’s Free Radicals festival in 2000. ‘The band gelled very well,’ recalls MacDonald. ‘As it’s developed we’ve looked to explore new projects and collaborate as widely as possible, not just with musicians but with artists and filmmakers.’
MacDonald explains that GIO is ‘interested in the way more conventional structural elements merge with free improvisation.’ For example, O’Rourke sent ‘upwards of 70 instructions about how to listen and play and structure an improvised piece. Some of them are quite tongue in cheek.’
‘There’s a sense of passion and joy around the orchestra. I think people who are unsure about what improvisation is will find something in the festival to engage with’, says MacDonald. ‘Seeing the drama of free improvisation unfold, being in the room and watching the way musicians interact, particularly when it’s a large ensemble, I think is quite accessible and really quite thrilling.’ (Stewart Smith)
woodwinds, on the grounds that you don’t have to take a breath. Edinburgh FREE The Mellotones Trio The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 3pm. Jimmy Taylor and band play songs by Mel Torme and other great jazz vocalists. FREE Mike MacFarlane The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. Finger-style jazz guitar from MacFarlane and friends. ■ World Premiere Quintet The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £5 (£4). A different selection of five leading jazz players come together for each session with no rehearsal. FREE Live Jazz Whiski Rooms, 4, 6 & 7 North Bank Street, 225 7224. 9pm. A selection of classy jazz acts. ■ Late’n’Live The Jazz Bar, 1
Chambers Street, 220 4298. 11.30pm– 3am. £5 (£4). Late night jazz and funk acts and DJs. Joined by the funk/soul sounds of Mike Kearney Ka-Tet. Sunday 18
Glasgow FREE Alan Nimmo & The Magic Blues Surfers Bobar, 383 Byres Road, 341 6516. 8pm. Sunday blues session. ■ Nigel Clark and Judith Williams Café Cossachok, Trongate 103, 10 King Street, 553 0733. 9pm. £6 concert only (£20 concert and a two-course dinner). Acclaimed Scottish jazz guitarist Nigel Clark incorporates flamenco, jazz standards, Latin and gypsy music, with vocals provided by singer and actress Judith Williams. Dinner is served from 6pm.
Jazz | MUSIC
Edinburgh FREE Hot Tin Roof The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. Stripped back jazz/blues duo. FREE Lorna Reid & Graeme Stephen Café Grande, 184 Bruntsfield Place, 228 1188. 7.30pm. Cool and classy vocalist Reid, with guitarist Stephen. FREE Sax & Bass With That Whiski Rooms, 4, 6 & 7 North Bank Street, 225 7224. 7.30pm. Funky jazz. ■ Stormy Sunday Blues The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £5 (£4). Blues night organised by vocalist James Carr, featuring a showcase of blues singers and soloists. FREE The Whighams Jazz Club Whighams Wine Cellars, 13 Hope Street, Charlotte Square, 225 8674. 8pm. All singers and instrumentalists are welcome at this jazz jam with a different host every week and a stellar trio. Joined by jazz vocalists Iain and Pat Ewing. ■ The Sunday Sinners The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 11.30pm. £3 (£2). Motown style funk/soul from this six-piece fronted by Fiona Lynch and Joe Early.
Monday 19
Edinburgh FREE Lachlan’s Sounds of Jazz Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. Accomplished jazz. FREE Ron Carruthers Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. Popular pianist. ■ The Jazz Bar Big Band The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £4 (£3). Big band jazz classics from this 17-piece ensemble of pros from all over Scotland; expect trickier and more rousing charts than usual. ■ The Babes The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 10.30pm. £3 (£2). Mix of rock, jazz, blues and funk from this six-piece playing arrangements of Prince, Herbie Hancock, Zappa and improv renditions of classics.
Tuesday 20
Edinburgh FREE The Six O’Clock After Work Blues The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. Live acoustic blues from John Hunt, his remarkable homemade guitars, and friends. FREE Steve Tyler Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. Classical jazz guitar. ■ Great Jazz Jam Session The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 8pm. £2 (£1). Expect a rich mix of styles as faces old and new drop in to perform with the House Trio each week. ■ 101st Airbourne The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 11.30pm. £3 (£2). Jazz and funk with a Hendrix twist from guitarist Aki Remally and his four-piece band.
Wednesday 21
Glasgow ■ Dan Tepfer Trio Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. NYC pianist with his rhythm section, playing classics and tunes from their recent album. FREE The Rubber Band Slouch, 203–205 Bath Street, 221 5518. 9pm. Slouch Blues night. Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra The Jazz Bar, 1 Chambers Street, 220 4298. 4pm. Open rehearsal. FREE Interplay Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45–9.30pm. Featuring guitarist Lachlan MacColl and guests.
15 Nov–13 Dec 2012 THE LIST 95