The Festival of Swing @ The Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival

The ThreeWeeks review of the Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival's Festival Of Swing:

On brass were Bob Wilber, Joe Temperley, Scott Hamilton, Alan Barnes, Duke Heitger and Howard Alden, and the evening's compère introduced the all-star line-up as the most 'unruly' bunch he's ever come across, but despite the occasional flashes of 'fooling around' it's difficult to see these mostly elderly gentleman causing much trouble. They and their audience grew old with jazz, and the reception the musicians received was as full-blooded as any young band might enjoy as the nine-piece celebrated the era of swinging Jazz centered on Duke Ellington; it was fitting that Joe Temperley, a veteran who actually played alongside Ellington, was there. Highlights included 'Creole Love Song', Heitger's trumpet solos and Alden spicing things up with some Brazilian swing. A gently foot-tapping evening.

Queens Hall, 3 Aug, 8.00pm, £17.50 - £22.50

tw rating: 3/5

The original review is here.

All that jazz in Edinburgh (and other such puns)

Recently, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival has been - er - rocking Edinburgh. No, that needs a better word...er, I'll think of one later. Painting the town...blue(s)? Never mind.

As a teasing preview before they publish any Fringe reviews, ThreeWeeks have published a couple of jazz reviews. Here's my favourite, a review of Scandinavian trio The Thing:

Three muscley, Scandinavian men – Vikings – with short hair appeared. They could have been squaddies. What followed certainly looked like a battle – for their souls. The Thing wrestled their instruments into producing an enthralling cacophony, pulsing with energy. This jazz borrows from punk and metal and includes random shouts of pain and squeals of feedback - amazingly from the saxophones, which make noises no sax should. Drummer Nilssen-Love looked increasingly frustrated that his arms were moving, bassist Flaten seemed tortured by his strings and saxophonist Gustafsson went bright red as air was squeezed from his body. It was like someone was forcing them to play as a punishment. Maybe a spiteful Spirit of Jazz. Punk-jazz may be an unholy alliance, but it's diabolically enchanting.

The Lot, 2 Aug, 9.00pm, £12.50
tw rating: 4/5
published: Aug-2009
http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk/review/6727


Then, over on Fringe Review at the moment, there's a four-star review of Belt Up's The Tartuffe:
http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/2957.html

Speaking of Belt Up - which I was - their venue, C Soco, turns into a late-night bar after their shows are over. Find out more about that on callthatashow.com:
http://callthatashow.com/?page_id=82

Exciting.

Call That A Show?

Also, for slightly more off-the-wall, uncoventional coverage of Edinburgh over Summer, it's worth checking out callthatashow.com, a website set up recently by University of Edinburgh students. It's got me reviewing jazz...

Summer at Edinburgh's Fringe

In August, Edinburgh is taken over by Festivals. Loads of them. Dozens. More festivals than any city has a right to enjoy in so short a space of time. Frankly, it's sickening...but also brilliantly exciting.

It all starts in July (with the International Film Festival in June), technically, but most events happen in August. There's the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh Mela, and - of course - the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The city gets busy, expensive, and very happening. It's a gorgeous city, so I'm willing to let it off being so sickenly Festivalised. And yes, that is a real word...probably.

To keep on top of what's going on in Edinburgh this Summer, keep an eye on these sites:

ThreeWeeks, who cover most of what happens,
http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/edinburgh/edaily.html

and

Fringe Review, who select what they review.

Both will be carrying reviews by me this year - which is stupidly exciting.