The Aberdeen Jazz Festival will celebrate 20 years of hitting the high notes when it brings live music to the Granite City next month.
The event has revealed a glittering line-up for the special 10-day celebration of jazz with styles ranging from smooth tunes to raucous gigs.
Organisers promise audiences the chance to hear innovative music from top local, national and international performers – including Scotland’s own jazz stars, Sebastian Rochford and Tommy Smith.
Scotland’s second-largest jazz festival, the event will take over a range of venues including the Blue Lamp, Cowdray Hall, the Lemon Tree, Resident X – and a special concert in Bon Accord Baths.
Aberdeen Jazz Festival spotlights international and emerging stars
Alan Morrison, head of music at Creative Scotland, said: “Over the past 20 years, Aberdeen has developed a jazz scene that is distinctively its own. The Aberdeen Jazz Festival has played a key role in this, bringing international stars to the city while nurturing local talent and giving high-profile platforms to emerging artists.
“Jazz is a genre that refuses to be easily categorised, so it’s great to see the programme reflect the threads of hip hop, R&B and world music that now feed into Aberdeen’s vibrant cultural identity.”
Highlights of the festival will include a poignant duo between celebrated Aberdeen drummer Sebastian Rochford and pianist Kit Downes, Mercury-nominated Fergus McCreadie in duet with Matt Carmichael, Martin Kershaw’s critically acclaimed octet, and Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis’ jazz-tinged re-imagining of Vivaldis Four Seasons.
In addition, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra will perform Tommy Smith’s swinging big band arrangement of Peter and the Wolf – narrated in Doric.
Bon Accord Baths will host special Aberdeen Jazz Festival concert
It will also feature rising stars, such as saxophonist Rachel Duns who is regularly tipped as “one to watch” on the jazz scene.
One of the festival’s more unusual and highly-anticipated events is SoundBath, a series of site-specific performances in the historic Bon Accord Baths.
Closed to the public since 2008, the vast, light-drenched, atmospheric cathedral-like space will form an atmospheric backdrop to two new and specially-commissioned short performances by cellist Juliette Lemoine and saxophonist Helena Kay.
In addition to gigs, the festival will offer workshops and open jam sessions at a range of venues.
Aberdeen Jazz Festival was named an “outstanding cultural event or festival” in the 2022 Aberdeen City And Shire Tourism Awards.
Aberdeen Jazz Festival in the running for prestigious award
It is a finalist in this year’s prestigious Thistle Awards, alongside Glasgow’s Celtic Connections and the Edinburgh International Festival. The winner is due to be announced on Thursday February 9.
This year’s Aberdeen Jazz Festival will run from March 16 to 26. For more information and details visit aberdeenjazzfestival.com
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