09 January 2025New Focus take The Classical Connection on tour
New Focus - pianist Euan Stevenson and saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski - take their The Classical Connection presentation to venues in Greenock, Lanark and Newton Stewart from 17th to 19th January.
An entertaining, informative and informal show, The Classical Connection highlights the characteristics shared by classical composers and jazz musicians. Music by Mozart, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin features and Stevenson and Wiszniewski illustrate the influence of Eric Satie on Miles Davis' classic Kind of Blue album and the inspiration pianist Bill Evans drew from Debussy.
The duo formed New Focus following a commission from Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival that celebrated the 50th anniversary of saxophone star Stan Getz's saxophone with strings album, Focus, in 2011.
They have since released two well received albums of original music and taken The Classical Connection to Perth Festival of the Arts and Lichfield Festival as well as to jazz venues across the UK.
They play evening concerts at the Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock on Friday 17th January and Christ Church, Lanark on Saturday 18th January and an afternoon concert at Quarrymen's Arts Centre, Newton Stewart on Sunday 19th January.
09 January 2025Young musicians gear up for new concert season
The Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra begins a new year with a fresh group of young musicians playing concerts in Birnam and Cumbernauld.
Birnam Arts on Saturday 18th January and Cumbernauld Theatre on Sunday 19th January are the venues for these latest concerts by the orchestra.
Founded in 2002 to provide a free educational opportunity for promising young jazz players, the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra has gone on to nurture some of the biggest talents in Scottish jazz today.
“I wanted to give young musicians the chance to play orchestral jazz as a way of developing the skills necessary to play jazz in any environment,” says Smith, whose own saxophone talents are recognised around the world.
In a big band, Smith says, there’s a camaraderie where the musicians encourage each other to improvise and take chances.
“Standing up to play your first solo can be quite daunting,” says Smith. “But if you don’t do it, you’re never going to play jazz and we try to create a situation where the musicians can relax and feel good about themselves and what they play. Then they can go on to work on ideas and progress.”
With three albums released to enthusiastic media responses internationally, the orchestra has a body of work and a history of performances that set a standard for new arrivals to work towards.
“Seeing previous members going on to win awards and create an impression around the world with their recording careers can be a real fillip for the musicians who follow in their footsteps,” says Smith. “The youth orchestra can also be a stepping stone to the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. We play the same music, the same arrangements, as the SNJO so it’s good preparation for anyone making the step up.”
The concerts will feature big-band music by Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Astor Piazzolla, Jaco Pastorius, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. There will also be a chance to hear the orchestra’s promising singer, Laura Oghagbon, who has already made a strong impression on audiences and won the Rising Star prize at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2024.
Both concerts begin at 2pm.
30 November 2024Saxophonist Bancroft launches new band with album from down on the farm
Saxophonist Phil Bancroft launches his new trio, The Beautiful Storm with an album he recorded in the Ringo barn on his East Lothian farm.
Featuring guitarist Graeme Stephen and Delhi-based tabla master Gyan Singh, the trio merges two duos that Bancroft has worked with in recent years. He and Singh released the well received Birth & Death album earlier this year and Stephen, a long-time collaborator, has accompanied Bancroft on recent gigs.
The album is released on Monday 16th December on Bancroft's Myriad Streams platform.