Artist: Christina Vantzou, Michael Harrison and John Also Bennett
Title: Self-Titled
Label: Séance Centre
Format: 2LP (45 RPM) / Digital
Release Date: September 2, 2022
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Trio photo credit Francesco Donadello
Text and photos by Fiona Mactaggart
This year’s lavish, multi-venue, ten-day juggernaut of an Edinburgh Jazz and
Blues Festival (EJBF) opened with a bang, with a ‘Mardi Gras’ in Edinburgh old
town’s Grassmarket and an Edinburgh Festival Carnival along the beautiful,
new town Princes Street getting the party started over the first few days. EJBF
has now screeched to a halt while some other festivals Edinburgh is famous for
have taken off, and it feels timely to reflect on some of this year’s jazz festival
offerings.
Bigger than ever this year, EJBF encompassed a wide range of jazz and blues
and prompted the feeling that there may have almost been as many bands
coming from overseas as from within Scotland itself.
De Beren Gieren
Artist: VOYAGERS
Title: Chasing Light
Label: Lion Songs Rec
Music Genre: West African trad music
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
MFM members are familiar with our brother Banning Eyre. (In July 2021, Eyre was the guest on an MFM webinar on bringing African music to the American music scene: https://musiciansformusicians.
Artist: Keyna Wilkins & Jalal Mahamede
Title: Set Me Free
Label: Artist release
Genre: Improvisation and spoken word
CD & Digital release: November 2021
Review by Fiona Mactaggart
Artist: Jemima Thewes
Title: Calling
Label: Last Night From Glasgow
Genre: Scottish avant-folk
Vinyl and Digital Release: July 2022
Review by Fiona Mactaggart
Photo by Vicki Rose Evans
