Vocalists gather for Edinburgh's new Sing, Sing, Sing mini-festival
The song’s the thing at a weekend mini-fest being presented later this month by the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival. Taking its name from the old Louis Prima classic, and duly set to swing, Sing, Sing, Sing runs from 16-18 February at the St Bride’s Centre, its programme ranging across the spectrum of jazz and blues vocal styles, from New Orleans trad to freshly contemporary.
The main Edinburgh Jazz Festival raises the capital’s dust every July, but its organisers also present “out of season” weekends such as this. “We were always thinking that it would be nice to do a kind of integrated weekend around a theme,” explains the festival’s producer, Fiona Alexander.
“We haven’t in the past focused so much on singing, but there’s such an exciting cohort of singers in Scotland at the moment, we thought it would be really nice to put the spotlight on all sorts of singing – jazz, blues, funk – you name it.”
Thus the weekend programme features such familiar Scottish jazz names as saxophonist Laura Macdonald, old-time jazz specialist Ali Affleck, and Chicago-born, Glasgow based Rachel Lightbody, who scooped the Critics’ Choice prize at the recent Scottish Jazz Awards, as well as notable emerging vocal talents like Laura Oghagbon, currently studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, and another ascending Glasgow-based talent, kitti.
The weekend launches on Friday 16th with Macdonald, joined by Oghagbon, leading an homage to Burt Bacharach, widely regarded as one of the most influential composersongwriters of the 20th century, who died in February last year.
The Friday night continues in robust funk, soul and R&B vein with renowned Edinburgh guitarist Aki Remally and his regular band, as well as a young jazz-rock-soul outfit, Grace and the Flat Boys.
The Saturday programme at St Bride’s sees Edinburgh’s Phoenix Choir present an upbeat programme ranging from “old-school gospel” to soul, Motown and contemporary material, while St Bride’s own community choir, Linten Adie, will also feature.
The Saturday night programme presents kitti – twice winner of the Best Vocalist category in the Scottish Jazz Awards and Best Female Breakthrough winner at the 2020 Scottish Music Awards – in a celebration of the inimitable Blossom Dearie, while fellow-award-winner Lightbody performs an eclectic programme with a first-rate band of pianist Tom Gibbs, bassist David Bowden and drummer Alyn Cosker.
Sunday showcases further emerging talent with a morning performance by the Edinburgh Youth Big Band while, tweaking the ears of even younger potential jazzers, Sound Explorers in the St Bride’s Café presents an interactive show for five to nine-year olds led by saxophonist and educator Sue Mckenzie, harpist Esther Swift and percussionist Jose Rojas.
A bluesy Sabbath afternoon features Scottish blues scene stalwarts Jed Potts and Nicole Smit, supported by Liz Jones, while the weekend closes with vocalist and historic jazz delver Ali Affleck, who joins close-harmony trio The Vintage Girls in a celebration of New Orleans and other vintage jazz and blues.
“We try to encourage maybe more established artists to take on slightly newer projects, while also giving a stage to young and up-and-coming talent,” says Alexander.
Previous such weekends run by Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival have included their highly successful SPARK strand of collaborations between Scottish and visiting European musicians.
This will return for the full-blown festival in July, says Alexander, although, like any other arts organiser, she is finding it hard to plan ahead in the light – or shadow, rather – of current financial uncertainties.
“It’s all a bit up in the air,” she remarks, with some understatement.
She remains positive, however, particularly about Sing, Sing, Sing: “Scotland is so lucky to be able to boast the quality of musicians we have and this programme demonstrates it – from Laura Macdonald celebrating Bacharach and Jed Potts and Nicole Smit championing the blues, to choirs, and then the youth orchestra as well. It’s just fantastic that there’s so much interest in music right across the board.”
“It’s really nice to put the spotlight on all sorts of singing – jazz, blues, funk – you name it”