The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

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The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

Young Edinburgh musician to tour with renowned jazz guitarist Mike Walker

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland will be joined, this summer, by a talented young trumpet player from Edinburgh and sensational jazz guitarist Mike Walker in a full performance of his powerful debut album Madhouse and the Whole Thing There. 

15 year-old Sean Gibbs will join the 22 strong ensemble, which will be lead by Malcolm Edmonstone and Andrew Bain, as they tour central Scotland over three nights.

The ensemble will stage performances in Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow from the 17 – 19 July 2009, giving audiences a unique opportunity to experience the exceptional live talent of Mike Walker and enjoy new arrangements of all of the pieces featured on his critically acclaimed album, which was described by The Guardian as ‘a soaringly confident piece of idiosyncratic contemporary fusion.’

NYJOS Soloist, Mike Walker said, ‘I’m looking forward to performing with NYJOS because I’ll be able to hear my music played by young musicians who are dedicated, talented and responsive, and see it coached by a couple of guys that love music for all the right reasons’.

22 young jazz musicians will perform on the tour and, after the success of this years spring concerts, they are all looking forward to performing with NYJOS again.

NYJOS Trumpeter Siobhan Duncan said, ‘The best thing about NYJOS is that from morning to night time, there is someone playing good music somewhere - and I can join in and have a jam if I want to’.


The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland Summer Concert Tour

Directors: Malcolm Edmonstone and Andrew Bain
Soloist: Mike Walker

17 July, 7.30pm        
Perth Concert Hall
Tickets: £10/£6/£2 (Student/child)
Box Office: 0845 632 6324

18 July, 7.30pm        
Queens Hall Edinburgh
Tickets: £10/£6/£2 (Student/child)
Box Office: 0131 668 2019

19 July, 7.30pm        
The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow
Tickets: £10/£6/£2 (Student/child)
Box Office: 041 353 8000

Mike Walker

Born in Salford in 1962, Mike took fifteen years to realise, that his father's piano playing, his mother's singing, and his brother's guitar playing, might just have genetically predisposed him towards a love of corduroy.  Realising, however, that careers in the King's cords were somewhat thin on the ground, Mike turned his attention to the chords of Kings.  In his case, Mike's royalty comprised Wes, Joe, Pat, John, Larry, Tal et al. 

  After long months of solitary woodshedding, Mike launched himself upon the Manchester scene with River People, a much loved fusion band comprising Mike on his trusted, and even then, rusted 335 guitar; Paul Allen on fretless bass;  Tim Franks on drums, and the always astounding Paul Kilvington (a.k.a. Bob Session) on keyboards.

  Mike's playing drew the attention of Alan Butler, a vibraphone player of considerable, and deserved repute, who in the 1980's had a long running residency at the Malt Shovels, a well-known 'jazz' pub in Altrincham.  Mike joined Alan's quartet in the mid-80's, where he needed to rapidly assimilate a new vocabulary suited to bebop oriented standards, and more contemporary jazz compositions.  This he did.

  During the five to six years that Mike was a member of Alan's quartet, he had begun to travel further afield, both musically and geographically, playing gigs with Mike Gibbs and Kenny Wheeler.  It was with the Mike Gibbs band that Mike was called upon to deputise for an absent John Scofield, during which he was heard by Kenny, who asked him to play with his big band.  Also at this time, returning to his fusion roots, Mike had formed a band with pianist and composer Roy Powell which they called Some Other Country.  They were joined by bassist Gary Culshaw, and drummer Steve Gilbert.  Mike and Gary had previously played together, and had already formed a deep, and almost telepathic, understanding and feeling for each other's playing.  Some Other Country soon established itself as one of the North's favourite fusion bands, generating great excitement, and many devoted fans.

  Mike's musical collaborations continued to expand during the late 80s and early 90s.  One such was with Nikki and Richard Iles who had formed a band called Emanon, which provided a vehicle for the compositional and arranging skills of Nikki and Richard, and fertile ground for Mike's brand of inspirational playing.   Nikki and Mike would subsequently enlist the skills of Gary Culshaw, and drummer Steve Brown, to form the Mike Walker Quartet, a group which entranced audiences with their empathic interplay. 

  Also at this time Mike was playing in the Sylvan Richardson band, where he met his long-time collaborator and friend, the sax player Iain Dixon.  Mike, Iain, Sylvan, and drummer Mikey Wilson would later form the band which came to be known as Brazil Nuts.

  Whilst in Zurich with the Kenny Wheeler Big Band, Mike met Julian Arguelles and subsequently joined his quartet. He also recorded several CDs with him, one of which featured on bass, Steve Swallow, with whom Mike would record again on the Mike Gibbs album 'By The Way'.  One of the highlights of Mike's association with Kenny was the football match that took place during a recording session.  The featured players were Peter Erskine, John Taylor, Kenny himself, Mike, and Django Bates.  Watching Kenny trying to decide what to do with the ball as it drifted slowly past him, was to influence Mike's music profoundly!

  In the early 90's Mike toured extensively in various bands led by Tommy Smith, including a quartet with Mick Hutton on bass, and the Canadian, Ian Froman, on drums. Occasionally Tommy added Niels Lan Doky or Jason Rebello on piano. One of Tommy's quartets featured the wonderful Scottish drummer Tom Bancroft, an association that would lead to Mike, Tom, and Tom's sax playing brother Phil, working together at the Glasgow Jazz summer school. After many years of smiles and sheepish grins across crowded rooms, Phil asked Mike to join his newly formed band. They've been touring steadily since, together with Thomas Strønen, the Norwegian drummer, and bass player Steve Watts who replaced Reid Anderson of 'The Bad Plus'.

During the last decade Mike has also visited the States, and most of Europe,as George Russell's guitarist, recording with him on several occasions. Also, as a member the Creative jazz Orchestra, Mike has played with Vince Mendoza, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Amongst the many other fine musicians that Mike has played and recorded with over the last 20 years, mention must be made of Dave Holland, John Taylor, Tal Farlow, Bob Moses, Arild Anderson, and Palle Mikkelborg, as well as some fine vocalists including Mica Paris, Norma Winstone, and Jacqui Dankworth with whom Mike regularly tours.

  Mike is about to release his own album called 'Madhouse and the Whole Thing There'. It features the members of Brazil Nuts, plus strings, French horn, piano, brass section and vocals etc.

  Mike says about it "This album is the first under my name. It's about dissonance masked by consonance, and having clear statements despite the density. I wanted the harmony to be supported by the melody. I wanted the rhythm and bar lengths to feel completely natural, even though they're not. I wanted it to be singable, and street-walk whistleable. I didn't want the face to reflect the inner workings."

Mike is very busy with new projects. He has written new material for another album which will feature some great musicians from England and USA. He has nearly finished his book 'The Comprehensive Fretboard System'. He is working hard to build a publishing business with long time friend and musician Iain Dixon, and there are plenty more gigs lined up in the future. He lives in Rossendale with his utterly beautiful children, who provide unending inspiration, without even trying.

Malcolm Edmonstone

Malcolm Edmonstone is a jazz pianist and arranger, born in Perth, Scotland in 1980. In 1998 he moved to London to study with Simon Purcell and Pete Churchill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is now professor and a key member of the jazz faculty. The ten years between then and now saw Malcolm gather an enormous range of experience, both as a practitioner and educator. He has worked in many high profile situations, often as musical director/associate.

At the age of 20, television MD Laurie Holloway called on Malcolm to step in to cover the piano chair on a tour with his wife, the late jazz legend Marion Montgomery. Since then Malcolm has continued to work with Laurie on various projects, including the first three series of the BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing, where he played piano and arranged a significant portion of the music. During this time Malcolm was writing prolifically and having his arrangements performed live on television to audiences upwards of 10m.

At 21, he met Jacqui Dankworth and soon became her Musical Director, a position he holds to this day. Together they have toured the world and been involved in numerous recording projects, including the album Detour Ahead. Recently they have recorded an album with Jacqui’s father, Sir John Dankworth.

As a jazz sideman Malcolm has enjoyed greatly the breadth of experience that London can offer a young jazz musician, having worked with Dame Cleo Laine & Sir John Dankworth, Georgie Fame, Mark Lockheart, Alan Barnes, Art Themen, Duncan Lamont, Steve Waterman, Dave O’Higgins, Tina May, Dick Pearce, Stan Sulzmann, Martin Speake, Pete Hurt, Martin Hathaway, Frank Holder, Russell Van Den Berg, Simon Allen and Laurence Cottle. Later in 2009 he will be touring with legendary guitarist Mike Walker.

In addition to work in the jazz world, Malcolm is often called upon as a reliable MD for artists operating in many and various musics. He is MD for Lenny Beige, the comic alter-ego of Steve Furst (Little Britain, Orange ads) and they often appear at London’s Pigalle Club. As a session/TV musician he has performed with Tony Bennett, Michael Bolton, Cliff Richard, Robin Gibb, Donnie Osmond, Bruce Forsyth, Madeline Bell, Vernon Kaye, Denise Van Outen, Tony Christie and Kenny Lynch. He has recorded widely as a session musician and appeared on all the major UK television networks.

In addition to working at the Guildhall School, Malcolm also finds time to teach at Trinity College of Music (arranging) and Middlesex University (composition) and co-directs the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland, most recently conducting for Mark Lockheart.

Andrew Bain

Andrew Bain was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 24th February 1979 and began studying percussion and drumset at the age of twelve. Equally talented in both disciplines, Andrew showed early progress in many classical and jazz ensembles including The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland. With these, and other ensembles, Andrew performed alongside Evelyn Glennie (1995), made several recordings, toured Europe and performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for the BBC Proms.

In September 1997 Andrew moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, enrolling on a unique classical and jazz percussion Bachelor of Music program. Whilst living in London Andrew studied with percussionists David Corkhill, Mike Skinner and Richard Benjafield, and received jazz tuition from Trevor Tomkins, Martin France, Pete Churchill and Scott Stroman. Whilst at college Andrew performed Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess with Randy Brecker at the Barbican Hall, London; Gil Evans' Sketches of Spain with Dave Liebman, and alongside Billy Cobham. In 2000 Andrew’s own jazz group performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Still active as a classical percussionist, Andrew got to the semi-finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 1998, the percussion finals of the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Scholarship 2000 and the final of the Yamaha Foundation of Europe Percussion Scholarship 2000. Andrew also performed at the BBC Proms 2000 with the Guildhall School of Music Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis and toured Portugal with the European Union Wind Ensemble in April 2000.

He also performed in a number of musicals, pit bands, jazz clubs and recording sessions in and around London, including The Vortex Jazz Club and sessions for The London Film and Television School. Andrew was awarded the BBC Big Band Drummer of the Year 2001.

In August 2001 Andrew moved to New York to study for his Master of Music Degree at the Manhattan School of Music with the help of the Scottish International Education Trust (2001, 2002), the Musicians Benevolent Fund (2002) and the Countess of Munster Trust (2002). During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, Andrew performed alongside tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer with the Manhattan School of Music Concert Jazz Band (April 2002) and studied with drumset player John Riley, saxophonist/author Dave Liebman, composer/arranger Mike Abene and pianist/theorist Garry Dial.

Coached by Cecil Bridgewater, Mark Soskin and Dave Lalama, Andrew also participated in masterclasses with Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, Jason Moran, Joey Barron, Greg Osby, Lewis Nash, Steve Nelson, Gary Bartz and Jamey Haddad. From August 2002 until December 2003, Andrew was a Jazz History, Jazz Drumset, Jazz Combo and Jazz Theory teacher for the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Andrew graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in May 2003 with a Master of Music Degree and received the William H. Borden Award for 2003. It was given in the memory of Mr. Borden, who was a trustee of Manhattan School of Music for thirty years, ten of which he served as Chairman of the Board. His greatest affinity was for jazz, and this award is given for outstanding achievement in this discipline.

Since graduation Andrew continues to perform at the highest level as a performer, educator, composer and bandleader both in the US and the UK. Andrew co-leads the NY-based group Confluence whose eponymous debut showcased original and highly inventive compositions and features Thelonious Monk Competition Winner Jon Irabagon. They recorded their second record Cosmos in September 2008. As part of NY rock group The Readyset, Andrew toured the North-East US, recorded at Sony Studios New York and is currently featured on Jason Liebman’s solo release due out Spring 2009. In 2007 he was appointed instructor of jazz drumset at Birmingham Conservatoire and instructor of jazz for City of Edinburgh Music School. He regularly performs with comedian/actor Steve Furst in London, teaches for the National Youth Jazz Collective and co-directs the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland (NYJOS) was formed in 1992 to meet a growing demand for high quality jazz training for young musicians in Scotland. 

In the beginning the orchestra met on a regular basis for rehearsals and training weekends under the direction of various professional jazz musicians based in Scotland.

In 1996 NYJOS had its inaugural performance in the MacRobert Arts Centre in Stirling under the direction of Richard Michael.  Since then the orchestra has grown from strength to strength, performing in many high profile jazz venues including the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow and at the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival.  In 2000 a group of musicians from NYJOS were invited to perform with Jools Holland and his Big Band at a concert in Glasgow as part of Music Live.

In 2003 the running of NYJOS took a different format, and the orchestra began to run a series of residential courses throughout the year, some just training courses and some culminating in concert tours.

In 2006 jazz musicians Malcolm Edmonstone and Andrew Bain, took over as permanent Orchestra Directors and since then the ensemble has engaged in high profile tours with Jazz legends Jackie Dankworth and Mark Lockheart.

NYJOS has a policy of supporting and performing new works by Scottish composers has commissioned and performed new works from a large number of Scottish jazz musicians including Phil Bancroft, Bill Wells, Sophie Bancroft, Aidan O’Donnell and Malcolm Edmonstone. 

NYJOS has recorded and released two CDs  Quiet Freedom (1999) and Scotland Suite (2006).

Membership of The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland is by annual audition.


Sara Harrison
Marketing Co-ordinator
The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland
13 Somerset Place
Glasgow
G3 7JT

saraharrison@nyos.co.uk.

The National Children's Orchestra of Scotland Summer Concert - NCOS perform pieces by Malcolm Arnold, Manuel de Falla, Benjamin Britten and Claude Debussy, led by Julian Clayton.  The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 11 July, 1.30pm, (Box Office: 0131 668 2019)

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland with Mike Walker – NYJOS are joined by sensational guitarist Mike Walker for a full performance of his debut album Madhouse and the Whole Thing There.  Perth Concert Hall, Fri 17 July, 7.30pm (Box Office: 0845 612 6324), Queens Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 18 July, 7.30pm (Box Office: 0131 668 2019), The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sun 19 July, 7.30pm (Box Office: 0141 353 8000).

 
For further information please visit:   National Youth Orchestra Of Scotland

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