Byas’d Opinion

There are a few interesting gigs coming up in the next week or so. Unfortunately, to get to all of them you’ll have to master the art of being in two places at the same time.

The RSAMD is putting on two concerts featuring the RSAMD Jazz Ensemble with guests.

On Thursday 29th they are joined by trumpeter American trumpeter Marvin Stamm. Stamm’s an unfamilar name to me, but he’s got a solid track record stretching back to the sixties. He’s been a member of the Stan Kenton, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis and George Gruntz bands as well as having an established career as a session player.

On Tuesday 3rd November, they are performing with altoist Nigel Hitchcock and trumpeter Ryan Quigley. According to the brochure with came out a few months ago, American trumpeter Wayne Bergeron was to have been the guest soloist, but this seems to have changed, at least according to the RSAMD web site.

On Thursday 5th, you’ve a dilemma.

• The Portico Quartet, with their unusual soprano sax, bass and two hang line-up are playing at the Arches, supported by the pop band Sweet Billy Pilgrim (presumably Kurt Vonnegut fans). The concert is being put on by the Arches themselves, rather than by one of the regular local jazz promoters. It will be interesting to see how the audience at this differs in size and in age and gender from the audience at a “normal” jazz concert at one of the city’s usual jazz venues. Doors open at 7.30pm.
• Half an hour later and half a mile away, Belfast guitarist Mark McKnight is playing at the City Halls Recital Room, leading a quartet of Ross Stanley on organ, Will Vinson on sax, and James Maddren on drums. McKnight and Vinson have both played Glasgow fairly recently, with Konrad Wiszniewski and Jonathan Kreisberg respectively, and are well worth hearing.

There are also a couple of decent-looking afternoon pub gigs on at the weekend. Guitarist Alan Sweeney’s Quintet is playing Brel on Saturday, starting at 3pm, and the Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra have their monthly residency at West on Sunday, starting at 2pm. Admission to these is free, although obviously it’s good manners to buy some beer or soft drinks.

*Today’s big word. It means “Presence in more than one place at the same time”, according to Collins English Diction

There are a couple of interesting jazz festivals on in Scotland this weekend. They both run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th.

Lockerbie

The Lockerbie Festival, which started in 2006, has now established itself on the Scottish jazz scene.

My pick of this year’s concerts would be:

• Gigs by Tony Coe, one of the greatest UK reed players, who’s capable of playing straightahead swing, free improvisation, and anything in between. He plays in the opening gala concert on Friday, and in a quartet with American pianist Bill Carrothers the next day.
• Three shows by the aforementioned Bill Carrothers, a marvellously lyrical pianist with a gift for digging up old tunes and doing something inventive and contemporary with them. On Saturday, he’s doing a trio set at lunchtime and an early evening quartet set with Tony Coe; on Sunday he’s playing in a quartet with Scott Hamilton.
• A gala opening-night concert in the Town Hall, where Tina May and American trumpeter and singer Duke Hietger will be performing a set based on the Ella Fitzgerald – Louis Armstrong collaborations of the fifties. They’re backed by a band which includes Tony Coe on clarinet and Ronnie Rae on bass. The support acts are Rossano Sportiello playing stride and swing piano, and Tipitina playing New Orleans-style rhythm and blues.

Scott Hamilton and Duke Heitger pop up in a selection of different line-ups across the weekend, the Temperance Seven play the main Saturday night concert, and Paul Towndrow plays a lunchtime Sunday show in a band lead by Dumfries drummer John Lowrie.

Full details of these and the other concerts on the Lockerbie Jazz Festival site.

Skye

This is a new event to me, although it’s apparently been going since 2007. Nigel Hitchcock’s Quartet, Sophie Bancroft, the Rhythm Kings, and Gina Rae with the Euan Burton Trio are all playing a series of gigs across the island between Friday and Sunday, ending up with a Sunday night jam session in the Royal Hotel in Portree. Details on the Skye Jazz Festival web site.

Jazz International have a couple of concerts coming up in the next few days:

• Claire Martin with pianist Gareth Williams. Saturday 3rd October
• Tim Kliphuis. Dutch fiddler playing Grappelli-style jazz in a trio with Roy Percy on bass and the excellent Nigel Clark on guitar. Tuesday 6th October

Both concerts are in the Recital Room at Glasgow City Halls and start at 8pm.

The RSAMD launched Scotland’s first-ever degree course in Jazz this year.

An immediate benefit for the jazz-loving public is that they’re also putting on a series of concerts by staff and students on the course. The first of these is on at lunchtime on Friday 2nd October, and features many of the course tutors:

• Tommy Smith, sax
• Chris Greive, trombone
• Ryan Quigley, trumpet
• Kevin Mackenzie, guitar
• Paul Harrison, piano
• Mario Caribé bass
• Alyn Cosker, drums

That’s some line-up! The concert is on at 1pm in the RSAMD Concert Hall and tickets cost 9.00.