Posted by admin on May 15th, 2012 in News, Uncategorized

The aim of the Scottish Jazz Awards is to highlight Scotland’s jazz music and for the 2012 awards we’d appreciate if you would consider nominating Alison Burns for ‘Vocalist of the Year’ by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SJA2012_Nominations

The Awards, which give recognition to excellence within Scotland’s thriving musical culture, encompass all aspects of jazz and improvised music.  Here are some suggestions of who you might like to vote for in the other categories:

• Jazz Album of the Year – Two for the Road by Martin Taylor and Alan Barnes
• Vocalist of the Year – Alison Burns
• Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year – Martin Taylor
• Jazz in the Media – Alan Steadman (Tay FM)
• International Award – Andreas Varady
• Innovation Award – Made in Scotland
• Jazz Ensemble of the Year – Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra
• Jazz Education – Martin Taylor Guitar Academy
• Services to Jazz – Martin Taylor
• Emerging Artist/Rising Star – Euan Burton
• Live Jazz – Alison Burns

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2012 in Recordings, Uncategorized

Martin’s latest album, ‘FRETERNITY’, is a joyful collaboration with his long time friends and esteemed colleagues Mercury Prize nominee Guy Barker (trumpet) and David Newton (piano).  This will be the first jazz group Martin has put together since the highly successful “Spirit of Django” and the album will also introduce fast rising British jazz vocalist Alison Burns on one track.

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Described as “THE acoustic guitarist of his generation” by America’s Acoustic Guitar Magazine, the multi-award winning Dr Martin Taylor MBE (to give him his full title) has been at the top of the musical tree for many years.  His inimitable style has gained him a well deserved reputation as the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing; his approach is unique, his style dazzling, his technique formidable.  Entirely self taught from the age of 5, Martin has won numerous awards for virtuosity and distinction in guitar playing including no less than ten British Jazz Awards for Best Guitarist, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Paisley, Scotland; the Freedom of the City of London; at least one Grammy nomination for his outstanding work with the late Stephane Grappelli and the MBE for Services to Music. Martin has enjoyed a musical career spanning over 30 years, dazzling audiences with his exceptional solo shows which combine virtuosity, musicality and a good dash of humour with a strong stage presence.  He spends much of the year travelling the world, playing in concert halls in Europe, North America, Japan, Asia and Australasia.  As well as his solo concerts and recordings he has, over the years, collaborated with many of the world’s top recording artists including the great Stephane Grappelli with whom he worked and toured for more than ten years, Chet Atkins, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Dionne Warwick, Sacha Distel, Bryn Terfel and many more.

Credits: Martin Taylor (guitar), Guy Barker (trumpet), David Newton (keyboards/piano), Steve Brown (drums), Ewen Vernal (double bass), Alison Burns (vocals on ‘Kissing Bug’)

Reviews:

‘A Tour de Force…a premier league group, doing what comes naturally.’ – JazzUK Magazine

‘Once again Martin Taylor shines as one of the best Jazz Guitarists in the country. A real pleasure to listen to.’ L Swan (Amazon Review)

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2012 in Live, News, Uncategorized

Alison Burns played a star-studded concert for Prince William at Windsor Castle in advance of HRH announcing his engagement to Kate Middleton. The event which was also attended by Sir Michael Parkinson, Alan Titchmarsh and Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes was held to raise awareness for the Child Bereavement Trust, of which Prince William recently became Royal Patron.

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2012 in Live, News, Uncategorized

Alison recently sang with the Royal Liverpool Philarmonic Orchestra and the Guy Barker Big Band at the Guitar Festival of Great Britain. Alison sang Leonard Cohen’s ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’ and the Peggy Lee classic ‘Black Coffee’. Here are some photos:

Picture by William Ellis

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Posted by admin on April 4th, 2012 in Live

10th June 2012 – Gardyne Theatre, Dundee, UK

12th June 2012 – Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate, UK

15th June 2012 – Oran Mor, Glasgow, UK

16th June 2012 – North Aldeburgh Festival, UK

15th July 2012 – Cameo Theater Anniversary Concert, St Helena, CA, USA

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Posted by admin on April 4th, 2012 in Live

Sunday 10 June, 8pm @ Gardyne Theatre

Making a welcome return to her home city, jazz singer Alison Burns performs tonight as a trio. Following dates across the globe and two acclaimed albums, Kissing Bug and 1AM (with Martin Taylor), Alison returns to Dundee in the esteemed company of two true great jazz players, David Newton on piano (Carol Kidd, Stacey Kent) and Ewan Burton on double bass (Phil Cunningham, Aly Bain), forging a sound that is very much her own. Expect a very special night with guests to be announced.

Tickets: 

£15

Group discount – Buy 10 Get 1 Free – available from Dundee City Council Box Office, Tel: 01382 434940

www.gardynetheatre.org.uk

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2011 in Recordings, Uncategorized

If you can imagine the ideal soundtrack to driving through the scented country roads of France on a hot lazy summer’s day then it would be the music of Martin Taylor’s Spirit of Django. To mark the 100th Anniversary of the birth of one of the founders of European jazz Django Reinhardt, Martin Taylor has reformed his award winning group Spirit of Django after a 15 year hiatus for the new album, ‘Last Train to Hauteville’.  Features Alison Burns on five tracks.

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Martin Taylor first came to prominence in the 70′s through his work with violinist Stephane Grappelli and as such is able to trace his musical lineage back to Django Reinhardt and the original Quintette du Hot Club de France.

In 1994 Martin formed Spirit of Django to re-explore his own Gypsy roots.  Their first album reached No.1 in the UK Jazz Charts with their version of Robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny & Mary’ becoming familiar across Europe as the theme the successful ‘Nicole-Papa’ TV adverts for Renault Clio.  They were voted Best Small Group & were top of the US Gavin Jazz Charts before Martin retired the group to work on his collaborations with Bill Wyman, Bryn Terfel & Jamie Cullum as well as his solo recordings.

Credits:

Martin Taylor (guitar and mandolins), Jack Emblow (accordion), Alan Barnes (clarinet and soprano sax), Alison Burns (vocals), John Goldie (rhythm guitar), Terry Gregory (bass), James Taylor (drums and percussion)
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Tracks:

1. Last Train to Hauteville

2. Rue de Dinan

3. Le Jardin Anglais

4. Double Scotch

5. La Mer

6. Madame Haricot

7. Roberta

8. Mirette

9. La Javanaise

10. Le Touch

11. J’Attendrai

12. Monsieur Jacques

13. La Belle Dundee

Reviews:

‘This band, a highly original updating of the classic French jazz idiom, won every award going, and reached the top of the jazz charts, before disbanding at their peak. That was 15 years ago. Now Martin Taylor has reassembled it, with Alan Barnes on clarinet and the formidable Jack Emblow on accordion, and the charm is undiminished. Apart from being a phenomenally good guitarist, Taylor writes the catchiest tunes imaginable. Happy music with the lightest of touches, this could be the jazz hit of the summer, if we get one.’ – The Observer

‘Spirit of Django sheds new light on a rich musical lineage.’ – AllAboutJazz

‘If you like Gypsy Jazz then this is definitely an album worth checking out, Martin is a very talented musician who makes Django style soloing sound effortless, we all know it is incredibly difficult even with 4 fingers!’ – GuitarNoize.com

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2011 in Recordings, Uncategorized

ALISON BURNS, smoky bittersweet jazz singer par excellence and a new name on the jazz scene, releases her debut cd, ‘KISSING BUG’.  Discovered by the virtuoso guitarist Martin Taylor the album features a veritable A list of musicians including Grammy nominated guitarist Martin Taylor (Peggy Lee, Jamie Cullum), Mercury Prize nominee and trumpet player Guy Barker (Lena Horne, Sting), pianist David Newton (Stacey Kent, Claire Teal), bassist Ewen Vernal (Eddie Reader) and accordionist Jack Emblow (KD Lang, Elton John).  ‘Kissing Bug’ features some great jazz songs from down the ages all given the gorgeous vocal treatment by Alison.

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Track Listing:

Credits: Alison Burns (vocals), Martin Taylor (guitar), Guy Barker (trumpet), David Newton (piano/keyboards), Jack Emblow (accordion), Ewen Vernal (double bass), Marcus Ford (nylon string on Shadow of your Smile), James Taylor (drums)

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Reviews:

“a collection of classic jazz torch songs set to race up the charts” - Daily Express

“Impressive….superb throughout” - Crescendo Magazine

“a triumphant debut…a voice full of confidence and authority” - China Sunday Morning Post

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Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2011 in Recordings, Uncategorized

When multi-award winning guitarist Martin Taylor, who has collaborated with great singers including Peggy Lee, Jamie Cullum, Dionne Warwick and Bryn Terfel, chose to record a special duo album with a vocalist he chose the UK’s fastest rising jazz singer Alison Burns.  Produced by legendary record producer Tony Platt (Bob Marley, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy),  The album takes inspiration from the Grammy award winning collaboration between Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald, mixing repertoire from The Great American Songbook and contemporary material from Stevie Wonder and James Taylor.

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Award winning guitarist Martin Taylor has established a unique musical career and his inimitable style has seen him recognised as the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing. He recently received the prestigious BBC Radio 2 ‘Heart of Jazz’ Award, presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Wales Jazz Guitar Festival and voted Best Guitarist in the British Jazz Awards for a record eleventh time. Surrounded by the surfeit of little girl voices prevalent in jazz today, it’s almost a relief to encounter a mature but flexible voice like Alison Burns.  Declared high profile fans include Michael Parkinson and Sir Terence Conran while her debut album ‘Kissing Bug’ was met with rave reviews.  From festival and theatre stages to small, intimate venues, Alison Burns never fails to touch the audience with her soul-stirring performances. Details:

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Reviews:

“With a canny selection of songs, mainly standards plus one of their own, this is a sparkling set.” – The Observer

“Having received plaudits for his lyrical lead work over the years (not to mention a gong presented to him by Her Majesty for services rendered in 2002) Martin Taylor’s silky, accessible tones are often employed as consummate accompanist. Here the clean, clear lines of his formidable technique are harnessed behind the voice of daughter-in-law, Alison Burns, in a slow mooch through a set of late-night standards.  As befits the wee small hours evoked in the album’s title, nothing here gets remotely noisome or likely to stop the next door neighbours from getting their beauty sleep. Taylor and Burns elegantly rummage through a songbook that includes many of the usual sepulchral suspects singled out by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee and Julie London. The intimacy of the production suits Burns’ languorous vocals which seem to be aimed at blending in with a low-lit lounge rather than standing out from the crowd.  Because Of You, The Man That Got Away, Sophisticated Lady, He’s A Tramp all have an agreeable well-worn, cosiness to them.  Perhaps the best in terms of performance is her own composition, True. Written about her brother who died a quarter of a century ago in the Falklands conflict, it’s one of those bitter-sweet melodies that you’d swear has been around forever. Burns has said it took her a long time to write it and even longer before she could perform it. In a simple arrangement, Taylor’s sure-handed picking graciously supports a heartfelt vocal.” – BBC

“I was completely blown away by how beautiful this album is. At first I thought that just a voice and guitar would not be enough to keep me interested in the entire album, but I put it on and before i knew it I had reached the last track. It is a really elegant and delicate record that blends some standards I knew already and some I was not aware of. There is also a song called “True” written by Martin and Alison that is just as good as any standard. Martin is a World class guitarist and to match him with a vocal can not be easy, but this album is a real duet in every sense, each track carefully allowing space for the vocals yet never falling into bland support. I love this record and highly recommend it.” – David Roberts (Amazon Review)

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Posted by admin on September 1st, 2010 in Live, News, Uncategorized

Alison Burns, Michael Parkinson and Martin Taylor

An evening with Sir Michael Parkinson, Martin Taylor MBE & Alison Burns
Saturday 11 September 2010

Join Sir Michael Parkinson, Martin Taylor, MBE, and vocalist Alison Burns at Gleneagles for a sensational evening of lively chat and jazz.

Sir Michael Parkinson

Jazz aficionado, Sir Michael’s award-winning talk show, Parkinson, ran for over 800 shows, during which he interviewed more than 3000 famous people. He was awarded a knighthood for Services to Broadcasting in 2008.

Martin Taylor, MBE, and Alison Burns

Award-winning guitarist, Martin Taylor, who received an MBE for Services to Jazz Music in 2002, as established a musical career as an internationally acclaimed solo jazz guitarist. Alison brings her unique interpretation to traditional jazz standards and classic contemporary songs.

Prices, from £650 per couple sharing a Sovereign room, include:

• Cocktail reception at 7pm in The Glendevon Room, attended by Sir Michael,
  Martin and Alison
• 4-course dinner in the Ballroom accompanied by live music
• After dinner, Sir Michael will present Martin and Alison performing on the
  Ballroom stage, after which Martin will chat with Sir Michael about his love
  and passion for jazz, with the opportunity for some questions from the audience
• To round off the evening, The Glendevon Room will be transformed into a
  Jazz Bar, with the opportunity to personally meet Sir Michael, Martin and Alison
• Dress code : Black Tie or White Tie
• Wines and after dinner drinks are to guests’ own account

For those attending the event, make a weekend of it and stay on Friday 10 September and Sunday 12 September, The cost each night is £215 per Sovereign room, based on two adults sharing.

For more details and reservations, please call Resort Sales on 0800 704 705,
email resort.sales@gleneagles.com, or visit gleneagles.com

Michael Parkinson interviewing Martin Taylor and Alison Burns

Michael Parkinson interviewing Alison Burns

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