FROM bee-bop and big bands to smokey-voiced standards and endless saxophone noodling, the hey day of jazz may seem lost in the mists of time. But jazz it seems has finally got its mojo back in 2017.
Jazz festivals and gigs around Scotland and the rest of the UK are reporting record attendances. Last week jazz group Dinosaur, led by trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd and featuring Scottish jazz drummer Corrie Dick, were shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, highlighting the increasingly mainstream acceptance of what has often been dismissed as a niche genre appropriated by pseuds still living in 1950s Beatnik-land.
The jazz comeback began with the release of the rom-com La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling as an aspiring jazz pianist, which scooped seven Golden Globes. Recent breakthrough acts include American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, whose debut jazz album the Epic received rave reviews. Washington also featured on US rapper Kendrick Lamar's hit album To Pimp a Butterfly.
Promoter Adam Moses of Jazz Refreshed - which runs club nights, festivals, a record label, magazine and clothing line - says the rebirth of jazz is down to the open-minded "ipod shuffle generation", who listened to jazz alongside hip hip, soul, R&B and pop. "Jazz doesn't need to be purist or elitist - it can be a part of the rich tapestry of music," he added.
In Scotland tickets for almost all shows at the Islay jazz festival this weekend are sold out and promoters are expecting record attendance levels. Dundee Jazz Festival saw a 20 percent increase last year and Aberdeen Jazz Festival has seen audience growth of 40 percent two years in a row. Ticket sales for the Glasgow Jazz Festival this June were up by 17 percent.
"The jazz scene is thriving and it is clear that demand is high," said Agnese Daverio of national promoter Jazz Scotland, who claimed the country now had more high quality jazz musicians than ever before."The difficulty for Scottish jazz is holding on to these musicians," she added. "The opportunities for them to perform are very few, because the entire scene has very little infrastructure, and relatively small levels of funding."
A national jazz centre, similar to those in Amsterdam or Copenhagen, as well as year-round public funding and support for Scottish based labels and agencies would help to meet demand, she claimed.
Corrie Dick, drummer of Dinosaur claimed jazz music was often "devastatingly misrepresented" making their nomination for the Mercury Prize all the more important. He said it was time to give jazz a chance to shine.
"Jazz truly is an exciting way of making music that encompasses strengths from many styles of music, stays true to the moment and thrives in live environments. It is the most people friendly music there is, if we - and the media - just allow it."
Jill Rodgers, director of the Glasgow Jazz Festival, which this year celebrated it's 30th anniversary by featuring 30 jazz musicians under 30, agreed the Scottish scene was increasing diverse, aided by the Jazz Degree at Glasgow's Conservatoire, which has been running for seven years.
"Young musicians are going out and doing their own gigs and setting up their own nights so the pub culture is thriving," she added.
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