David Beckett is a good friend of UKJN and has been visiting, writing about and photographing the Montreal Jazz Festival for many years. Here are his thoughts on the 2025 edition: Living just over the American border, in the state [...]
About eight kilometres north of central Paris lies the elegant suburb of Enghien-les-Bains, which has, for the past twenty five years, hosted an annual jazz festival across its various cultural venues (including Europe’s largest floating stage). This year’s festival opened [...]
Singer Marianne McGregor has been making an impact on the jazz scene in Scotland over the past few years. Her debut album Good Morning Warning appeared in 2020, she was voted best vocalist 2021 and 2023 in the Scottish Jazz [...]
“A courageous and inspiring fixture in the summer’s cultural landscape.” Ralf Dombrowski attended the first weekend of the 43rd Suedtirol Jazz Festival Alto Adige. Here is his reflection on what makes this festival uniquely appealing – in an English version [...]
Eight-piece neo-soul group Orchard performed music from their debut EP Where We’re Calling From – with some absolutely lush vocals from Evie Hill. This versatile band – who will also be at Love Supreme Jazz Festival this weekend – covered [...]
Inspired by Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic series (1944–1983), ACT Music’s founder Siggi Loch started the label’s Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series in 2012, with the aim of bringing together musicians from jazz and beyond, performing live in the [...]
Here’s an intriguing question. How can an album win an award for Best Traditional Western music at the Western Heritage Awards …and simultaneously be ranked 7th in The Times’ top jazz albums of 2024? The conundrum was answered by Hilary [...]
Scottish keyboardist Peter Johnstone was encouraged to form the quartet that appears on this album by New York-based vibes virtuoso Joe Locke after they worked together on a Scottish National Jazz Orchestra tour. As the SNJO’s resident pianist Johnstone has [...]
Pianist Nico Widdowson has the authenticity and the Yorkshire grit – he was born in Leeds but grew up in North Wales – to bring both humour and anger to the stage. In the polite surroundings of his Worshipful Company [...]
An absolute treat for Edinburgh: four musicians from the London scene at the top of their game. And to hear them in a small venue such as the Traverse, with the energy and excitement palpable, being so close to the [...]
