ABERDEEN Jazz Festival and Aberdeen Jazz Orchestra are two of the most visible pieces of evidence pointing to a genuine revival of interest in the music in the Granite City. So, it was appropriate that the orchestra open the third instalment of this burgeoning annual event and gratifying for the organisers that the Music Hall was well filled for the occasion.
Part of the attraction, of course, was the ensemble's guest, Tina May, whose singing and all-round musicianship place her securely in the top division internationally. But there was loud approval for the local players who acquitted themselves above their semipro status, particularly when accompanying May.
As their own selections illustrated, section discipline and general togetherness, rather than inspired soloing, are their forte and a burly Just Friends and a swinging take on Sammy Nestico's Tall Cotton were good examples of the f lair, power and dynamism they can generate.
May didn't spare them, bringing along challenging arrangements from her own book rather than off-the-shelf standards. Colin Towns's at times austere, atmospheric take on Autumn Leaves and an imaginatively updated I Only Have Eyes For You required and received care and attention to detail from the orchestra to match May's clear, expressive phrasing and downright sexy vocal timbres.
Jazz on a smaller scale launched the festival's Blue Lamp concert series. Saxophonist Julian Arguelles brought his highly personal stamp and a now very compact trio sound to a repertoire that ranged from gentle, folkinf lected inquiry through an energetic re-examination of Cole Porter's Everything I Love to full-blooded, primal riffing on an opening set that matched passion and creativity with genial presentation.
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