Scottish jazz star Brian Kellock has put together a brand-new line-up to celebrate the music and spirit of one of the living legends of swinging jazz: the American rhythm guitarist, vocalist and raconteur Marty Grosz, who recently turned 92. Brian Kellock (piano), Ross Milligan (guitar) & Roy Percy (bass) are all fans who relished every opportunity to catch Marty whenever he visited Scotland in the 1990s and 2000s. The formation of the band was inspired by the 30th anniversary of Marty’s very first visit to Scotland. And who did he play with during that first visit? A young Brian Kellock.
The joy of a Marty Grosz gig is that it is fun. Jazz shouldn’t – in his view – be po-faced or serious. It should be entertaining – just as it was when he was growing up and his favourite musicians included Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, all of whom knew how to put on a show. His selection of tunes has always been highly distinctive and original: whereas other musicians pull the same old numbers out of the bag wherever they play, Marty – also known as a member of 1970s supergroup Soprano Summit – built an international solo career on the tunes that jazz had forgotten. And then he put his own imaginative twist on them. If he had a small group, he would dream up a memorable arrangement, often on the spot, and if he was playing solo, there would be so much colour in his playing that you’d forget you were only listening to one guy.
At the Marty Party, Brian – like Marty often has – plays as a soloist before Ross and Roy join him onstage. This is an affectionate and fun homage to a longstanding Edinburgh and Nairn Jazz Festival favourite; a musician who, although he no longer travels to Scotland, continues to delight aficionados (and the rest of their households) with his generous back catalogue of recordings, by a range of bands with such witty names as the Orphan Newsboys, the Paswonky Serenaders, Marty Grosz and His Swinging Fools, and Marty Grosz and His Hot Puppies.
Brian Kellock says: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing music associated with Marty Grosz. Marty’s records boosted my spirits many times during the pandemic, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the joy of playing jazz in front of an audience again.”
Doors open 7.30 for 8.00 pm. Tickets £14 plus booking fee from Trybooking.com, or £15 on the door payable by cash or card. For online bookings there is a choice of table seating or tiered seating; table seating on the night subject to availability. Tickets for unreserved tier seating can be reserved for collection on the night via info@langtounjazz.co.uk Patrons may bring their own drinks and nibbles.
