SNJO Nu-Age Sounds Queen's Hall Edinburgh 3rd March 2024 Review
SNJO NU Age Sounds at the Queen’s Hall Edinburgh tonight was the last of three performances (01 March Dundee, 02 March Glasgow) of what may turn out to be, for many different reasons, one of the most important programming of jazz music in Scotland for many years to come.
Nu Age Sounds is the culmination of a project that both celebrates and showcases the musical talents of some of the best and most creative young talents on the Scottish jazz scene today, who are making their name and their music known to a far wider audience base across the UK and increasingly on international stages.
This project not only gave these young artists the opportunity to perform on stage with the SNJO for this project, but it also commissioned works from them to be arranged for the orchestra. Here Singer kitti, saxophonists Helena Kay and Matt Carmichael, trombonist Noushy (Anoushka Nanguy), bassist Ewan Hastie and the collectives KARMA, and corto.alto brought a taste of just how diverse jazz can be both in its source material and performance style. Also included in the commissions to create a new work was multi award winning pianist Fergus McCreadie who, although not performing, had his work showcased by the always impressive talents of pianist Peter Johnstone. Taking the work of these young composers and arranging it for the full SNJO orchestra were arrangers Fabia Mantwill and Florian Ross.
Tonight’s music was a showcase of talent and selecting any one person out when their approaches to their music are so diverse is just unfair, but it has to be noted that six of these musicians have come through the jazz course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland which is overseen by RSNO director Tommy Smith. Also the connection that Tommy Smith has retained with all of these musicians after they have graduated from this course to pursue their own musical paths has to be noted too.
All of the musicians performing tonight have already won many awards for their music either individually or as part of musical collectives, and this musical showcase was an opportunity for everyone in the audience to be able to say in years to come that they were there watching these musicians perform at an early and formative part of their professional careers before going onto even greater recognition for their talents.
This programme of music was not only important musically but for its very feel when you entered the Queen’s Hall performance space. Gone tonight were the usual cabaret tables in the centre of the hall to allow for standing room, and graphics by Niki Cardoso Zaupa representing the individual music performed were displayed on hanging digital screens. Even more importantly, the audience for tonight’s concert had a very different age demographic than normally attend SNJO concerts with a lot of young people in the audience and if Jazz music is going to not only survive, but evolve and flourish as a creative musical genre it is people like the young musicians performing tonight and their equally young audience who are going to do this. Along their journey and exploration of the music each and every one of them will find and explore the music of the great figures of jazz in years gone by in their own time.
One thing is clear from tonight’s performance, and that is that wherever jazz music is going it is in safe musical hands. Also, with the internet, today’s musicians and audience members have access to music from anywhere in the world to influence them whilst also being able to hear and so often watch performed too an almost inexhaustible selection of music from both musicians of today and earlier years.
The future of jazz music (in fact all music) is a bright one, but those of us of a certain age must allow this new generation of musicians and audiences to find their own music, their own musical heroes and accept that either or both might not always be ours.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Nu Age Sounds is the culmination of a project that both celebrates and showcases the musical talents of some of the best and most creative young talents on the Scottish jazz scene today, who are making their name and their music known to a far wider audience base across the UK and increasingly on international stages.
This project not only gave these young artists the opportunity to perform on stage with the SNJO for this project, but it also commissioned works from them to be arranged for the orchestra. Here Singer kitti, saxophonists Helena Kay and Matt Carmichael, trombonist Noushy (Anoushka Nanguy), bassist Ewan Hastie and the collectives KARMA, and corto.alto brought a taste of just how diverse jazz can be both in its source material and performance style. Also included in the commissions to create a new work was multi award winning pianist Fergus McCreadie who, although not performing, had his work showcased by the always impressive talents of pianist Peter Johnstone. Taking the work of these young composers and arranging it for the full SNJO orchestra were arrangers Fabia Mantwill and Florian Ross.
Tonight’s music was a showcase of talent and selecting any one person out when their approaches to their music are so diverse is just unfair, but it has to be noted that six of these musicians have come through the jazz course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland which is overseen by RSNO director Tommy Smith. Also the connection that Tommy Smith has retained with all of these musicians after they have graduated from this course to pursue their own musical paths has to be noted too.
All of the musicians performing tonight have already won many awards for their music either individually or as part of musical collectives, and this musical showcase was an opportunity for everyone in the audience to be able to say in years to come that they were there watching these musicians perform at an early and formative part of their professional careers before going onto even greater recognition for their talents.
This programme of music was not only important musically but for its very feel when you entered the Queen’s Hall performance space. Gone tonight were the usual cabaret tables in the centre of the hall to allow for standing room, and graphics by Niki Cardoso Zaupa representing the individual music performed were displayed on hanging digital screens. Even more importantly, the audience for tonight’s concert had a very different age demographic than normally attend SNJO concerts with a lot of young people in the audience and if Jazz music is going to not only survive, but evolve and flourish as a creative musical genre it is people like the young musicians performing tonight and their equally young audience who are going to do this. Along their journey and exploration of the music each and every one of them will find and explore the music of the great figures of jazz in years gone by in their own time.
One thing is clear from tonight’s performance, and that is that wherever jazz music is going it is in safe musical hands. Also, with the internet, today’s musicians and audience members have access to music from anywhere in the world to influence them whilst also being able to hear and so often watch performed too an almost inexhaustible selection of music from both musicians of today and earlier years.
The future of jazz music (in fact all music) is a bright one, but those of us of a certain age must allow this new generation of musicians and audiences to find their own music, their own musical heroes and accept that either or both might not always be ours.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Please note that unless requested by performers/pr/venues that this website no longer uses the "star rating" system on reviews.