Phil Bancroft

Best of British Jazz Showcase

The Europe Jazz Network is an association of producers and presenters of contemporary jazz and improvised music from all across Europe. It has gone through significant changes since it was first launched in 1987, but is now thriving, with Nod Knowles…

Colin Steele - Stramash

JAZZ/FOLK (Gadgemo Records) Colin Steele’s ambitious jazz-meets-folk project made a striking impression when first heard live back in 2006 and retains much of its adventure and imagination in this excellent studio recording. His genre-crossing…

Scottish Jazz Expo at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

A showcase of new bands and fresh collaborations

Like the Homegrown weekend at the Glasgow Jazz Festival, the Scottish Jazz Expo is aimed at raising the profile of our country's musicians. This year’s programme includes an impressive range of the most exciting developments here, alongside projects…

Celtic Connections - Follow That!

CELTIC CONNECTIONS The title of this latest round of commissions inspired by the music of the late Martyn Bennett underlines the far-reaching influence of his eclectic, open-minded approach to traditional music (while simultaneously suggesting that…

Aidan O'Rourke - An Tobar

FOLK The music on this excellent disc was commissioned and first performed by An Tobar Arts Centre on Mull, and is characteristic of the fiddler’s lyrical synthesis of traditional folk roots with a much more contemporary and exploratory musical…

Islay Jazz Festival

If the idea of a successful jazz festival on Islay once seemed more than a touch outlandish, the actuality has been quite the opposite. The Islay Jazz Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a line-up that typifies the programming policy…