2018 Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival Programme

For its 40^th anniversary Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is in a festive mood.

The programme for this 40^th anniversary edition which takes place from Friday 13^th to Sunday 22^nd July features a panoply of promising newcomers; music legends who have marked the Festival’s history; as well has a host of famous names making their Edinburgh debut.

Among the many highlights are Kurt Elling, Davina & The Vagabonds, Mud Morganfield, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Jools Holland, Dave Holland with Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter, The Average White Band, Blind Boy Paxton, Curtis Stigers and Maggie Bell.

We welcome musicians and musics from across the world. Celebrating the tri-centenary of New Orleans we present a posse of Crescent city musicians from the return of Soul Brass Band, to the UK debut of all-female traditional jazz band Shake ‘Em Up. Avant garde jazz from New York from Vijay Iyer Sextet, Grammy award-winning trumpeter, Keyon Harrold and Memphis based Southern Avenue who update the STAX tradition also feature. We present classic blues from Chicago with a double bill of Mud Morganfield and John Primer and we have scoured the US to find three blues musicians central to the future of the music: Earl Thomas and Blind Boy Paxton (both from California) and from St Louis, Marquis Knox.

European Jazz comes from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway, Italy, Sweden and England with Mobo Award winners Soweto Kinch, Zara McFarlane and Zoe Rahman, legendary groups like Bratislava Hot Serenaders and Robert Balzar Trio, plus major new stars in Vit Kristan, Harald Lassen and Juno.

We also feature sensational Caribbean vocalist Malika Tirolien (from Guadeloupe), virtuoso tabla player Zakir Hussain (from India) and African rhythms from KOG and the Zongo Brigade.

We also celebrate Scottish musics and in the tenth year of EXPO funding, we present a host of creative projects. World premieres include Seonaid Aitken singing of love with a 24 piece string orchestra; American clarinet player Evan Christopher joins The Scottish Swing Orchestra to salute the Kings of Swing; Haftor Medboe duets with Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon and Andrew Robb is joined by Norwegian saxophonist Petter Wettre.

There is an amazing new wave of Scottish jazz musicians on the scene and fittingly in this, the Year of Young People, we feature the 20 year old bassist Mark Hendry who showcases his Octet and has been commissioned by the Festival to write music for a Large Ensemble – 23 musicians! We also feature another 20 year old, the stellar pianist Fergus McCreadie with his Trio plus the 18 year old singer Luca Manning who leads a brand new band featuring Greek singer Irini Arabatzi.

Special projects to celebrate our anniversary include a jazz gala featuring Martin Taylor, Carol Kidd, Brian Kellock, Tommy Smith and hosted by Seonaid Aitken, a Blues Gala with Maggie Bell, Bernie Marsden and Tim Elliott. In association with Edinburgh Jazz Archive and Edinburgh Napier University we are staging an exhibition that will feature memorabilia from the last 40 years. We also turn Teviot Row into a Festival Club that has a range of catering options from outdoor terraced bars to fine dining. We present over 40 concerts plus our late night club which runs until 3am featuring host bands, festival guests jamming with the house bands and djs.

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra joins the line-up of Jools Holland, Davina & the Vagabonds, Bratislava Hot Serenaders and The Average White Band at Festival Theatre. They present their five star acclaimed adaptation of two children’s classics “Peter And The Wolf” and “Carnival Of Animals”.

This year, we launch another new venue at The Assembly Hall, which offers a 700 plus auditorium, reserved seating and top-notch facilities. Perched on the edge of the old and new town it offers easy access to concerts and will host some world-class performances. We also travel to Dalry (St Brides Centre), Craigmillar (Lyra Theatre), Meadowbank (Church) and Muirhouse (North Edinburgh Arts Centre).

Jason Rust, Chair of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, said:

We are celebrating our anniversary with a bang. A stellar international line-up with musicians converging on Edinburgh from all over the world, over 150 concerts, plus the Festival’s two free events– The Mardi Gras and the Edinburgh Festival Carnival – will take place on the 14^th and 15^th July respectively.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

This year, the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival provides another high-quality showcase of jazz and blues from across the world for national and international audiences.

Scottish musicians will lead new projects that show the breadth of ambition within the jazz and blues sector in Scotland. Through the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, the Scottish Government has awarded just under £1.4 million to the Festival since its inception. Artists benefit significantly from the global exposure and Expo funding ensures the festival continues to grow and reach even more people than ever before.