Today Glasgow Jazz Festival announces a bumper line-up to celebrate its 30th festival.
With some of the biggest names in Jazz, the very finest of Scotland’s homegrown talent, some of the most well-known festival faces and an array of one-off musical collaborations, the 30th festival promises to be the very best yet!
The Glasgow Jazz Festival will take place in various venues across the city from Wednesday 22 June. The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls, The Old Fruitmarket, St Luke’s and The Hug and Pint will all come alive with the sound of jazz during the festival’s landmark 30th edition.
Some of the stalwart performers who have been involved since the maiden year will once again grace the festival’s stage.
Glasgow’s very own Jazz Singer Carol Kidd performed at the very first Glasgow Jazz Festival and has that gig to thank for one of her most well-known stage characteristics, as she mentions in this interview: “I did the very first Glasgow Jazz Festival…and I was absolutely petrified, because it was my first time singing with an orchestra. I looked down at my feet halfway through the second number and I realised that I had been so nervous, my shoes were on the wrong feet. So I took them off – and I’ve never worn them onstage since.”
Carol, and her bare feet, will be back at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in St Luke’s on Saturday 25 June.
Another well-recognised festival face, vibraphonist Joe Locke and his Quartet, will also be playing in the Old Fruitmarket on Sunday 26 June. They will be supported by young jazz quartet Square One who are best known for their free spirited, energised performances.
Fresh from a two week Coachella residency, tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Kamasi Washington will be playing the Queen Margaret Union on Monday 27 June.
2016 promises to be a massive year for one-off collaborations at the Glasgow Jazz Festival. The legendary saxophonist Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis, one of the key members of James Brown’s band in the 1960s and co-writer of hits such as “Cold Sweat”, will join Glasgow’s modern funk pioneers Federation of the Disco Pimp. Combining Pee Wee’s legendary sound with FOTDP’s elements of Old-School Funk, Disco, Psychedelic and Jazz promises to be an unforgettable collaboration. They will be playing the Old Fruitmarket on Thursday 23 June.
Scotland’s mighty jazz trumpeter Ryan Quigley and his Big Band will be joined by Hamish Stuart, of Average White Band fame, for a very special one-off collaborative concert at the Old Fruitmarket on Friday 24 June.
Grahame Skinner, formerly frontman of Hipsway, will also perform his take on Frank Sinatra’s concept album, Watertown, written by Bob Gaudio of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Skinner has given the cult album an electronic make-over for this year’s Glasgow Jazz Festival. He will perform onThursday 23 June at St Luke’s.
To mark the 30th anniversary, the festival is celebrating some of the up-and-coming musicians within the Scottish Jazz Scene today by naming “30 Under 30” – a collection of young Scottish Jazz musicians making waves in the global music scene, many of whom will perform at the Festival.
To further celebrate this landmark year, Glasgow Music City Tours have programmed a unique walking tour that will trace the history and highlights of the city’s longest-running annual music event. Entitled Glasgow Music City Tours Presents: 30 Years of Glasgow Jazz Festival, the tour will depart from the Scottish Music Centre, Candleriggs at 2pm on Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June. Walkers will hear tales of visits from the greats, including Miles Davis and Tony Bennett, and get the inside track on how the Festival has used Glasgow’s enduring love affair with jazz and blues to help make it the vibrant live music city it is today.
Boasting a richly diverse programme, which features everything from trad and Dixie to free jazz, soul, world music, blues and hip-hop crossovers and traditional to contemporary jazz, there is something for everyone. Whether you are a seasoned fan or a first timer, the Glasgow Jazz Festivalprogrammers are encouraging everyone to sample a taste of jazz this summer during their triumphant 30th edition.
Jill Rodger, Director of Glasgow Jazz Festival, said: “We are very excited to be launching the 30th Glasgow Jazz Festival! I can’t wait to introduce the array of exciting big name artists to the Glasgow Jazz Festival stage, to welcome back old friends and showcase some fantastic new, one-off collaborations.
“I am especially looking forward to celebrating the “30 Under 30” musicians – the collection of young Scottish Jazz musicans making a big impression on the international Jazz scene today. It is vitally important to recognise the next generation of musicians and one of the key themes of this year’s festival is looking forward to the exciting next 30 years that the Glasgow Jazz scene has to offer.”
Tickets on sale via our website www.jazzfest.co.uk from Friday 29th April at 9am. For more information and to view this year’s programme please go towww.jazzfest.co.uk