The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Helena Kay
St Matthew’s Church, Perth, December 21
The last time Helena Kay played a hometown concert in Perth, in May 2017, she appeared as the reigning Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year. When the London-based saxophonist returns tonight she’ll be celebrating another career landmark, the release of her first album, Moon Palace.
In the intervening 18 months Helena has added another achievement, having won the much-coveted Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, which is presented to emerging jazz musicians from across the UK annually following a hard-fought audition process.
“Winning the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year competition was a great confidence boost,” says Helena, who moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2012. “In some ways, though, the Peter Whittingham Award was an even bigger prize because the musicians are drawn from a bigger pool and the standard of the people who enter it can be quite daunting.”
Helena has been meeting daunting challenges since she stood up to play her first saxophone solo with the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra in her early teens.
She had started out on violin, having been given one at school, but when she heard the sound of a saxophone coming from the radio one day, she begged her parents to buy her one.
Eventually they relented and bought an alto and their condition that Helena had to practise soon became redundant as she dedicated herself to the instrument.
“My first teacher was into jazz and he steered me towards people like Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley, who I really loved,” says Helena.
“I also liked Art Pepper early on. I liked the feeling he put into his solos. The West Coast players, like Lee Konitz, all the big alto players made me want to improve my own playing.”
She played in school orchestras and a big band locally before joining Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra where she was encouraged by long-serving director Richard Michael’s mantra of “There are no mistakes”.
“I’d never stood up and improvised in front of anyone before and that first solo was nerve-wracking,” she says, “but Richard was so positive that it gave me the will to go on and do more.”
As well as FYJO, Helena played with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and saxophonist Tommy Smith’s youth jazz orchestra before moving to London, where she’s now establishing herself as one of the top players in a crowded generation of strong talent.
Moon Palace features her KIM Trio with David Ingamells, a fellow Guildhall graduate, on drums and Ferg Ireland on double bass, the group she brings to St Matthew’s Church.
“It’s quite challenging playing without a harmony instrument but I really enjoy it and Dave and Ferg make a great supportive rhythm team.”