Jazz club tunes up for new season

THE “u n for get ta ble” legacy of Nat King Cole will be celebrated when Jazz at Hospitalfield, in Arbroath, returns for a 29th year.

Organiser Alan Steadman said: “We start off with a band which was one of the hits of last year. The band has two award winners i n its ranks – pianist Euan Stevenson and saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski – and the young singer Georgia Cécile has been tipped as ‘one to watch in 2019’ by a leading jazz magazine.

“The concert will feature a mix of i nstrumentals and vocals covering new material as well as standards, and should appeal to both regulars and those who may want to come along for the first time.”

Mr Steadman said there are also plans to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Blue Note record label and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nat King Cole with tribute concerts.

He said: “I would want to mark Nat King Cole’s 100th anniversary more in terms of his contribution to jazz than as a popular singer. He was one of the best and most influential pianists of the 1930s and ’40s, and his drummerless trio of piano, bass and guitar set the scene for many to follow. I also have plans to bring a New Orleans piano player called Tom McDermott in May, and a band from New Zealand in July.”