Trumpet stars of jazz blow in for scaled-down Nairn festival

organisers confident of selling 3,000 tickets

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SOME of the world’s top musicians descended on a Highland town as the 19th annual Nairn Jazz festival got under way at the weekend.

Trumpet players Bob Barnard, Jon-Erik Kellso and Randy Reinhart performed to a packed crowd last night, alongside Bill Allred, Allan Vache, Mike Goetz, Save Green and Bernard Flegar.

Organisers scaled down this year’s event because of funding constraints, but are confident of selling about 3,000 seats for concerts in Nairn and Findhorn.

Festival director Ken Ramage said people from around the UK come to Nairn just for the concerts.

He said: “We have a loyal core of fans built up from all over Scotland and England, including Manchester, London and Glasgow.

“We also have a loyal local following and then there are people who are on holiday up here who will catch one of the concerts.”

Mr Ramage said the event had its own magic formula.

“Apart from Nairn being a lovely place and lending itself to the artists, we have developed a unique and friendly atmosphere,” he said.

And the festival director believes that is the key to attracting the best musicians back year after year.

He said: “They recognise the uniqueness of the festival and the fact it’s not a city.

“It’s part of a holiday for them. We take them on runs and show them around.

“We have quite a lot of Americans and this year there is Bob Barnard from Australia. They get a wider experience rather then just coming over and performing on a stage.”

The festival runs until Thursday. For more information visit the website www.nairnjazz.com.