Jam House Gets Top Billing For Jazz-blues Festival
Published 11th Jul 2009 by Simon Hale

Edinburgh’s Jam House is to provide the main stage for a world-leading line-up of musicians throughout the city’s annual jazz and blues festival.

The popular live music and dining hot spot in Queen Street has been chosen to showcase the talents of stars from the worlds of jazz, blues, ragtime and swing for the third successive year from July 31 to August 9.

The thrilling programme of events comprises:

• Friday, July 31 - Fat Sams Band. Scotland’s premier jump and swing band demonstrate their brand of high-energy toe-tapping music in the vein of Louis Jordan, Louis Prima or Count Basie.
• Saturday, August 1 - Phil Mason’s New Orleans All Stars and singer Christine Tyrell. The classic jazz attractions follow New Orleans star vocalist Tricia Boutte and the Kenny Mylne All Stars.
• Sunday, August 2 - Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers. The Louisiana connection continues with a concert by the creole blues and dance musician and “America’s Hottest Accordian” winner and his band.
• Tuesday, August 4 - Todd Gordon and Clare Teal. Singers from the north and the south of the border perform a special concert of jazz vocal classics and hits from the shows, including a Cole Porter feature.
• Wednesday, August 5 - Bill Salmond’s Louisiana Ragtime Band. The music steps back nostalgically to the bars and dance halls of New Orleans of the early 1920s with a concert by the popular Edinburgh-based band.
• Thursday, August 6 - Paris Washboard and Mike Hart’s Society Syncopators. Two top bands perform traditional jazz with real panache.
• Friday, August 7 - Fat Sams Band. Scotland’s premier jump and swing band demonstrate their brand of high-energy toe-tapping music in the vein of Louis Jordan, Louis Prima or Count Basie.
• Saturday afternoon, August 8 - American guitarist Lightnin’ Willie and the Poor Boys, harmonica player and vocalist Lyndon Anderson and his band, and singer- acoustic guitarist Al Hughes promise a thrilling blues party.
• Saturday evening, August 8 - British Blues Quintet. Scotland’s best-known blues singer Maggie Bell along with Miller Anderson, Zoot Money, Colin Hodgkinson and Colin Allen follow Edinburgh’s Blues n Trouble to keep the blues party swinging.
• Sunday afternoon, August 9 - Otis Grand. The Black Smoke US guitarist performs in 1966 BB King style with his Grand Blues Combo. Also on the bill is British blues guitar hero Gerry Jablonski.

Tickets for the wide range of afternoon and evening performances are priced from £10-£15 and can be obtained by logging on to the Jazz & Blues Festival website at www.edinburghjazzfestival.co.uk.

John Bunce, Operations Manager for Luminar Leisure, the parent company for the Jam House, said: “We are delighted to have again been chosen as one of the main feature venues for this prestigious event. It is a tribute to our superb performance facilities and shows just how much of a key part of Edinburgh’s entertainment scene we continue to be.”

NEW BAR AND A LA CARTE MENUS LAUNCHED
Guests needn’t go hungry while they enjoy the acts at this year’s Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival – thanks to a new bar menu and a new a la carte menu the Jam House is introducing exclusively for the occasion.
The main feature venue will be offering a range of platters, skewers and burgers starting at £8, along with side orders at £2.50, for each performance evening and afternoon from July 31-August 9.
The range of £10 platters that will be provided at bar level include smoked, cured and poached organic Scottish salmon; cured ham and Scottish cheddar; and grilled Mediterranean vegetables.

Lamb and cumin kofta brochettes, ginger organic pork, chargrilled Mediterranean tuna, and maize fed chicken in chorizo will also be available on skewers at £8 each. Burgers can also be purchased at £10 each with a choice of Aberdeen Angus and venison fillings.

The popular gallery restaurant will also be offering a new a la carte menu with a wide choice of Scottish and Mediterranean influenced cuisine. Slow cooked pork belly, smoked salmon and lamb kidneys are among the succulent starters, while roast lamb rump, spiced halibut and tortellini of spinach and goats cheese feature in a range of delicious main dishes. Restaurant bookings, which are recommended to avoid disappointment, can be made by calling 0131 226 4380 (www.thejamhouse.co.uk)

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