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Starbucks Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
Dates for 2008: 25 July - 3 AugContact Address: 29 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh, EH3 5AN.
Tel: 0131 467 5200
Sponsored by Starbucks Coffee House since 2004, The Starbucks Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival showcase a plethora of world-class performers in various venues across Edinburgh. Founded in 1978 by local jazz guitarist and banjo virtuoso, Mike Hart, it is the longest established Jazz and blues Festival in the UK and coincides with the Edinburgh International Festival every August.
Today, Hart continues to direct this magnificent festival, overseeing a diverse and eclectic programme of Jazz and Blues Solo artists and Rhythm and Blues Orchestras. The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival plays host to free events such as the ever-popular 'Jazz on a Summer's Day' which attracts larger crowds than any other single jazz event in the UK. Staged in Princes Street Gardens under the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, this spectacular annual feature is gives festival goers and jazz aficionados a flavour for older jazz and blues styles, from Big Band and Swing to traditional gospel choirs. Another regular spectacle at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival is the 'Mardi Gras in the Grassmarket' hosting a colourful parade from Edinburgh City Chambers to the Grassmarket and a series of bands and brollie-dollies at this free event.
There are some 120 concerts and performances over this remarkable 10 day event and highlights from previous years have included Scottish saxophone virtuoso Tommy Smith, Jazz Jamaica, Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and sensational performances from the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra who celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2005. The Blues Festival based in the Spiegeltent marks the end of The Starbucks Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival with a bang.
The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival presents daily programmes in venues such as The Spiegeltent, The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, The Hub, Henry's Jazz Cellar, The Fairmile Inn and since 2004, you can catch a performance at the Starbucks Coffee Houses in Princes Street, George Street and High Street in Edinburgh City Centre. 'Jazz on the Quay' is a new arrival to this vibrant and colourful festival, staged at the deluxe waterfront Malmaison Hotel in Leith. Sponsored by Bombay Sapphire, "Jazz on the Quay" should prove another success with festival audiences and is guaranteed to be a regular showcase in years to come.
For those wishing to sample courses, workshops and jazz singing lessons, there is a week long intensive course that takes place during the festival, encompassing practical techniques to performance and improvisation. This annual course is tailored for musicians of all ages and abilities and focuses on the development of jazz playing skills. The course is based at Napier University Craighouse Campus and features instrumental and ensemble training from some of the country's finest jazz musicians and educators. The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival is also home to 'Sing Jazz', the only five-day workshop of its kind in Europe, solely dedicated to jazz vocals. In 2005, this popular workshop celebrated its 10th anniversary and has been led by the magnificent jazz vocalist Fiona Duncan since its inauguration.
Other annual attractions at the Jazz and Blues Festival in Edinburgh include a host of informal jam sessions, barbecues and a plethora of free outdoor events for visitors and families to enjoy.
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