French organist on return date with Glasgow

French organist on return date with Glasgow

French organist Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin is returning to play the fine Willis-Harrison organ in Glasgow Cathedral on Thursday, when her programme will include works by Henri Mulet and Cesar Franck. The doyenne of organ improvisation, Chauchefer-Choplin holds senior positions in Paris as well as being a professor of organ studies at the Royal College of Music in London.

Alongside her recitals of works by the major classical composers, she improvises accompaniment to storytelling by actors and at this performance will be improvising on a musical theme that will be given to her just before she plays.

The concert begins at 7.30pm and tickets are available in advance and on the door.

l glasgowcathedral.org.uk

Tour tribute to Billie Holiday

Aberdeenshire-based jazz singer Cindy Douglas is planning to tour her new show, Lady Day And The Pres, after it debuts at Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival next Saturday.

The show is a tribute to the musical pairing of Billie Holiday and Lester Young, with Douglas and saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski revisiting the music of two of jazz's greatest figures and adding anecdotes about the soulmates, who died within a few weeks of each other in 1959.

Douglas is lining up concerts until next April, which marks what would have been Holiday's 100th birthday.

l cindydouglas.co.uk

Summer season for top jazz gigs

There is a similarly-named establishment in Buenos Aires, but Glasgow's Rio Cafe - the home of the team that created the pop-up Rio Club during Glasgow Jazz Festival - is the place to catch the top jazz names of Scotland with a summer season of gigs, under the banner The Hot Eight, that has run on Wednesdays since the start of June.

There are still three shows to catch, starting this week with trombonist Phil O'Malley.

Wednesday, July 23, it is pianist Euan Stevenson, and the final concert on July 30 features trumpeter Tom MacNiven. The music starts at 9pm.

l facebook.com/theriocafe.glasgow