Saxophonist Brian Molley leads his quartet in two separate runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Promising to bring the heat of Rio’s carnival to the Jazz Bar, from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th August Molley’s group will reimagine Brazilian classics including Corcovado, Desafinado and The Girl from Ipanema.
One of the Scottish jazz scene’s most travelled outfits, Molley’s quartet prepared for this celebration of the great samba and bossa nova composers with a successful tour of Brazil late last year.
“It’s been an ambition of mine for many years just to visit Brazil,” says Molley, who formed his quartet in 2012. “I love Brazilian music, especially the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and to play in the country that produced all these fantastic rhythms was totally exhilarating. But to be accepted by the people there was extra special.”
Molley’s second run at the Jazz Bar, from Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th August features his quartet’s enthusiastically received latest album Tùs/Origin. Released earlier this year, it reveals, says Molley, “the often-overlooked influence of Scottish music on the evolution of jazz.”
Conceived as a suite, Tùs/Origin fuses Gaelic psalms and sea shanties with Afro-Caribbean grooves, fugue and gospel influences. It also pays homage to Frederick Douglass, the American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, who had strong links to Scotland in general and Edinburgh in particular.
“It’s tempting to imagine that Frederick Douglass heard Gaelic psalms, with their call and improvised response form during his time in Scotland,” says Molley. “He was clearly well thought of here and the fact that there’s a mural of him in Edinburgh shows the respect in which he was – and is – held. It’s quite moving to make that connection through music and to know that the tracks on Tùs/Origin that celebrate him have been well received in his homeland.”
The Tùs/Origin concerts, which have the strapline “… and jazz was born in Scotland” are part of the Made in Scotland showcase, which promotes high-quality performance from Scotland at the world’s largest arts festival. It’s made possible by support from the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund and is a partnership between the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the Scottish Music Centre and Creative Scotland.
“This is the fourth time the quartet has been selected for Made in Scotland,” says Molley. “It’s great to be part of this showcase because it opens doors. We’ve played in India, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as Brazil and leading venues in Europe, in recent years and I think being seen on the Fringe has played a part in that.”
Adam Roberts
Radio Summerhall Arts 