| New Focus Quartet | | Stan Getz made one of the greatest jazz recordings of all time when he teamed up with composer Eddie Sauter to improvise with a rhythm section and strings on the album “Focus”. Sauter’s rhythmically and harmonically exciting masterpiece is sometimes overlooked. The great sax player and Blue Lamp favourite Konrad Wiszniewski and pianist Euan Stevenson launched their New Focus group by recreating the original music, and then presenting their own take on the Saxophone and Strings format. Their first album, simply titled New Focus, was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year award in 2012 and they have since released a follow-up, New Focus on Song, which reflected their engagement with both pop and folk music. As well as appearing at Glasgow and Edinburgh jazz festivals, they have also played at a number of other prestigious events, including BBC Radio 3’s 70th Birthday celebrations at the South Bank in London in 2016, in a concert that was broadcast live. Last summer they made their debut at the world famous Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in Soho and in January they were invited to open a concert at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. At The Blue Lamp, the quartet of Euan Stevenson piano, Konrad Wiszniewski saxophones, Andrew Robb bass and Alyn Cosker on drums will present the most recent phase of the New Focus project with the music from their latest album “On Song”. | | 21st March, 8pm at The Blue Lamp | | Admission: £12, concession £10, students £5 | |  | |
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| Jeff Herr Corporation | | From Luxembourg, the Jeff Herr’s Corporation is a classy European trio with Jeff on drums, Maxime Bender on saxophone and Laurent Payfert on bass, a new highly skilled and energetic trio which relies on compositional abilities from each of the 3 members. Well arranged and structured songs as well as wild and free improvisations cover the band’s large repertoire, filled with some surprising cover songs from well known Pop artists such as David Bowie or Jimi Hendrix. The strength and tightness of the band emerge with a strong rhythmical impact and the wonderful lyricism of Maxim held on beat by the fabulous Laurent on bass. | | 28th March, 8pm at The Blue Lamp | | Admission: £12, concession £10, students £5 | | | |
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