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New generation of Scottish jazz musicians showcased at Glasgow Jazz Festival

26/06/07
Since the demise of the Caber record label and the dispersal of musicians involved with that innovative label, the Scottish jazz scene to the outsider at least has remained a closed book. The iconic figures of jazz in Scotland such as Tommy Smith and Brian Kellock are as high profile as ever but beyond it’s a complicated picture of artists hovering on the verge of breakthrough careers.

The Homegrown showcase held during this year’s Glasgow Jazz Festival at the Old Fruitmarket featured eight bands, several of which could reach out to wider audiences, While the bands only occasionally offered a special “Scottish” identify (particularly saxophonist John Burgess with his hearty Celtic sound within the Jim Whyte band) there were plenty of fresh ideas and a multitude of approaches which suggest a wider individuality within the local musician community. New generation of Scottish jazz musicians showcased at Glasgow Jazz Festival

The Chris Lyons Trio, first on, perhaps looked northwards to Scandinavia and betrayed little obvious connection with either the blues or song-based tradition, steering EST-like at times on ‘Blues for the Antichrist’, the group needs time to develop. The drummer-led Jim Whyte quintet had more swagger, at times rising to an anthemic sense of pride which was at once rousing and oddly old-fashioned and while Edinburgh pianist Paul Kirby’s trio was old fashioned in the sense that it tapped a more distant jazz tradition his tunes 'Blues for Jaki’ and ‘Waltz for Wayne’ were some of the most completely realised offerings all day.

Vocal-led improvisers Spontaniacs fronted by singer Gina Rae moulded hip-hop and electronica in an interesting and very modern way while later Threeform with experienced pianist Paul Harrison showed maturity that let his new material break and mutate in interesting directions. The Ben Bryden Quintet was the most conventional group on show and seemed oddly the most anachronistic in the company of the other bands. Clearly orthodox hard bop is not what the new generation is playing in Scotland these days. The Euan Burton Collective had its bassist leader in fine company with a blazing solo from Paul Towndrow transforming the set which also featured skilful blowing from trumpeter Richard Turner.

Final act Newt saw trombonist Chris Greive and guitarist Graeme Stephen par relentlessly with drummer Chris Wallace in a satisfying clash of tone colours and sonorities. Overall Spontaniacs, Threeform and Newt deserve wider attention and recording opportunities while the other groups showed plenty of promise but lacked the ‘x’ factor to make them truly stand out.

Report: Stephen Graham

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Last Updated ( 26/06/07 )

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