The Kirkcudbright Jazz Festival Board recently purchased five microphone stand/boom combos for use by Academy musicians in the the Cochran Hall. This was a gesture of thanks to the school for the tremendous support that it gives to the Festival each year.
This year, the 21st Kirkcudbright Jazz Festival begins on Thursday 14th and will run until Sunday 17th June. It will celebrate not only the jazz born in New Orleans in the early 20th Century but also the halcyon days of British “Trad” jazz of 60 years ago. Two of our bands will pay tribute to the style of music played by Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk and Chris Barber and will feature the music that made the then “Hit Parade” – numbers such as ‘Midnight In Moscow’, ‘Stranger On The Shore’ and ‘Petite Fleur’. In addition, and in recognition of the French establishment of the city of New Orleans 300 years ago, ‘Jazz a Bichon’, a French band, will bring their own highly accomplished interpretations to the 1920s/30s music of the New Orleans Creoles. Once again the much admired Kirkcudbright International All Stars, featuring German, Dutch and Scottish musicians, will be performing. In all, some 14 bands, including the Dumfries and Galloway Youth Jazz Orchestra, will showcase their musical talents in a variety of instrumental combinations and styles – sufficient to satisfy the most discerning and critical listeners.
There will, of course, be the traditional ‘Brolly Parade’ through the town on the Saturday morning starting at Atkinson Place at 11am and finishing at St Cuthbert’s Church at noon . Additionally, at 10.30am on Friday 15th at the new Kirkcudbright Galleries , there will be an audio-visually enhanced talk by Chris Walker of the Pedigree Jazz Band tracing the career of the world’s greatest jazz trumpeter, Louis Armstrong.
Details of the full programme of events are listed in the Festival programme which is available at Thomsons Newsagents, Paul Jones Bakery and the Tolbooth.
Prices for tickets are:
Full Weekend £60
Afternoon Tickets (noon – 6pm) Friday, Saturday and Sunday £12
Evening Tickets ( 6pm – midnight) Thursday Friday, Saturday and Sunday £12
