This year's Islay Jazz Festival was a huge success according to various sources. Brian for example told me everything was "stupendous" and he himself had a gig with Paul Harrison and Mario Caribe at Ardbeg. Brian is a regular performer (drums) on the Islay Jazz festival for many years so his opinion counts. The media were also thrilled about last weekend's festival. Below are two quotes from different sources. I'm sure many will follow, including the one in this weeks Ileach:

www.northings.com wrote: "Jointly promoted by Jazz Scotland and Islay Arts Association, and currently sponsored by the pungently peaty Lagavulin – of which a complementary 16-year-old nip was offered to audiences at every gig – the festival this year marked its 13th outing, with not a whiff of that number’s customary ill luck. Quite the contrary, in fact, with attendances among the busiest ever, and many visitors declaring 2011’s edition the best yet – no small accolade, given how the event’s unique blend of attractions, for jazz fans and musicians alike, have matured into an international reputation that belies its modest scale, a stature underscored by the BBC’s presence over the weekend, recording several shows for broadcast on both Radio Scotland and Radio 3."

The Scotsman had a great review as well: "As multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield observed, "Isn't it great to have a jazz festival in a distillery, on a Hebridean island?" Or as Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon put it, grinning hugely: "Screw the Lincoln Centre." Where else – by way of further example – could you return from a pre-concert stroll along a beautiful deserted beach, complete with fleeting equinoctial rainbows over the water, to hear the mingled sounds of lowing Highland cattle and a trombonist warming up? This was at the aptly-named Outback Gallery, a splendidly isolated former steading away up in Islay's north-west corner, which was packed to the gunnels for Saturday's exhilarating performance by Brass Jaw, a wonderfully hep, funky and formidably accomplished Scottish quartet of alto, tenor and baritone sax, plus the aforementioned trombone."

Tag: jazz festival