In a rehearsal room in the Icelandic Academy of Arts,
something is stirring. A posse of six Scottish musicians has just arrived to
join forces with a similar number of their Icelandic contemporaries to prepare
for The Great Scottish Icelandic Concert, a musical Burns Night celebration
taking place in the bar of the uber-hip Kex hostel on the edge of Reykjavik.A couple of Canadians have just arrived to
prepare for their scheduled performances the next night, and they too will
become part of one of the richest under-the-radar international exchanges that
could only happen in Iceland.
These aren’t just any musicians either. From Scotland, maverick pianist and composer Bill Wells is here with his National Jazz Trio of Scotland, consisting of vocalists Lorna Gilfedder, Kate Sugden and Aby Vulliamy, the latter of whom doubles up on viola. Between them, the trio have a multitude of connections with some of Scotland’s more exploratory left-field combos. Also in attendance is Alasdair Roberts, w…
These aren’t just any musicians either. From Scotland, maverick pianist and composer Bill Wells is here with his National Jazz Trio of Scotland, consisting of vocalists Lorna Gilfedder, Kate Sugden and Aby Vulliamy, the latter of whom doubles up on viola. Between them, the trio have a multitude of connections with some of Scotland’s more exploratory left-field combos. Also in attendance is Alasdair Roberts, w…