Pianist Brian Kellock was billed to appear in this year’s Edinburgh Jazz and Blues festival but it was a booking he could not fulfill because of ill health. He passed away at the end of May but even in his last days his commitment to Scotland’s jazz scene could not be faulted as he passed on his wish that friend and collaborator David Newton took his place.
This was no easy challenge as Newton had to live up to not only Kellock’s legendary virtuosity but also, throughout a two hour long programme, play the jazz favourites that Oscar Peterson had performed for well over half a century.
Tenderly – a piece with which Peterson first stunned the world when he played it as a then unknown over 30 years ago – came early in the programme. The audience were also delighted in Love for Sale by Cole Porter and who could fail to swoon and swing to My Romance, originally set to music by Richard Rodgers.
As a quartet the musicians provided a rich tapestry of sounds and a soft, subtle sense of swing. While Dave Green succeeded in bringing the bass sounds out from the shadows and into the limelight as a lively lead instrument. In Hymn for Freedom – an Oscar Peterson original composition the bass provided the lynchpin.
Wed 16 July, 2-4 pm The Famous Spiegeltent, St Andrew Square