Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 2005
29 July-7 August

2005 Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival Preview

Mardi Gras - Saturday 30 July That's what you absolutely have to catch if you haven't yet planned what you want to go to hear in this year's Jazz and Blues Festival. The New Orleans experience- with an Edinburgh twist - will begin its parade at the City Chambers in the High Street, then make for Victoria Street and end in a colourful spectacular three hours of non-stop music in the Grassmarket. They'll all be there, from the zany George Washing Machine to the 10th Avenue Jazz Band and everything in between.

Jazz on a Summer's Day - Edinburgh-style sets the scene for the whole of the Starbucks Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. Though not going on the very first day, this big, big free Sunday afternoon jamboree of all this year's biggest, best, traditional to innovative, big band to Gospel, marching to military bands gigs tells the story of what's on offer during the coming week.

Yes, there is a military band taking part: the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, courtesy of an innovation of a different type, a link-up with Edinburgh's world famous Military Tattoo, which begins on 5 August to long-sold-out audiences. So here's a chance for jazz fiends to experience a tiny snatch of of the Tattoo.

The 2005 festival kicks off with the great trumpeter Wallace Roney and his Band. This is something of a coup for the Jazz Festival since he's only playing two European dates: Edinburgh and Switzerland. His great love of Miles Davis' work culminated in a lifelong ambition to play with him - sadly only a few months before Davis' death. Roney's musicianship has been carefully honed by studying with Clark Terry, then briefly at both Howard University and that great training ground Berklee College. His present star-studded quintet includes his sax-playing brother Antoine and Adam Holtzman, once the keyboards man for Roney's hero, Miles Davis.

One of the strands running through this year's festival features the contributions of the female jazz singers, the Ladies of Jazz and who better to tell you why is Dee Dee Bridgewater when she sings on the last night in the Queen's Hall. She stands right up there in the fine tradition of Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Gospel and has sung both inside and outside the jazz canon, even duetting with Ray Charles. There are many tasty concerts offered in this Ladies of Jazz strand, from our own up-and-coming Niki King, the ever popular Claire Martin (also known for her Radio 3 presenting stints on Saturday afternoons) to the new vocal star from Sweden Linda Pettersson.

She leads right into another major strand: Scandinavian Jazz - Swedish style. Last year it was Norwegian jazz. This year the spotlight's on Sweden, promising to be equally memorable and innovative. But what to choose to hear? Difficult. Should it be contemporary jazz from the Frederik Nordstrom Quintet, our own Konrad Wiszniewski playing with the Swedish Quartet or up-to-the-minute vibes from Mattias Stahl with Harrison and Nordstrom

Napier University Craighouse Campus

Another, important, related strand is Education. This exciting aspect grows steadily more important every year. It's also an integral part of the whole jazz experience, providing another dimension for the understanding and fascination of the never-ending newness of jazz. Both courses are held at Napier University's lovely Craighouse Campus.

Fionna Duncan's Vocal Jazz Workshop celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. As a lifelong jazz fan, I remember this small but important beginning of the workshops. Jazz was apparently clinging on for its life and jazz singing was very specialised. As the then Music Librarian at Napier University, I felt so happy that such an advocate was doing something very innovative and hoped that it would survive. Survive it has!

This 2005 Workshop has a very special guest tutor, the American virtuoso Sheila Jordan as well as that welcome, more regular visitor Sophie Bancroft. Sheila Jordan doesn't get over our way very often so some of the students may not realise just how great a teacher they're going to have. Her speciality is in vocal interpretations of outstanding instrumental music from giants such as Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus. The students will bloom under all three ladies' inspirational teaching.

The Play Jazz week-long, very intensive course is a successful complement to Fionna's workshops. This is for instrumentalists. A whole raft of impressive jazz musicians will teach a dizzying range of jazz topics, all firmly fixed in the practical playing mode. The tutors all play regularly and Edinburgh jazz loves are fortunate to be able to hear many of them at Henry's Jazz cellar.

Where to Hear the Music

From the farthest-flung venue of the Fairmile Inn (the first building you'll see after coming off the Edinburgh Bypass at the Lothianburn junction) to the Ross Theatre in Princes Street Gardens, the city will be humming with jazz and blues notes.

The Blues Festival, taking place over a much shorter time of 5 - 7 August will move into the very conducive Spiegeltent in the leafy garden of George Square. This very historic Art Deco marquee has all anybody would need to enjoy music. And the beer's not bad either!

In the run up to the Blues gigs, the Spiegeltent will rock to the Swing Dance Sesssions, expected to be interactive sessions where festival go-ers can learn swing dance styles from the Fly Right Dance Co. in taster classes at novice level right through to experts. And if that's not enough for you, The Jive Aces will tempt you to take the floor to dance to real, live jazz music.

The Cristal Palace

There's a new 'Crystal Palace' at Leith's famous and imposing Malmaison. The Cristal Palace is, in fact, a truly sumptuous Dutch mahogany-lined marquee erected outside the Malmaison and promises to be a very cool, upmarket way to hear the coolest of cool jazz, beginning with Craig McMurdo and ending with the best of the future jazzers the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland followed by the warm intimate voice of Todd Gordon singing Sinatra.

For the lucky few, the Malmaison Brasserie will provide a double treat with a wine and dine experience combined with selected Cristal Palace gigs. The package is called Jazz on the Quay. For more details call 0131 467 5200.

Selected Starbucks coffee houses in the heart of the city will, once again, host free gigs at varying times of the day. So if you like jazz with your coffee, check these out.

That's all there's time for, folks. There's a whole lot more I could have written about but it's fun to find it all out for yourself. By the way, the word is that the 10th Avenue Jazz Band and those perennial favourites, Fat Sams Band are already sold out. And if you want to hear Jools Holland, you'll have to be very fast indeed to get your tickets.

© Pat Napier. 22 July 2005. Published on www.edinburghguide.com