Glasgow Jazz Festival 2026
11 June Thursday
19:30
Mackintosh Queen’s Cross
Doors: 19:00
Seonaid Aitken & Ben Shankland ‘Rhapsody in Blue – An Evening of Gershwin’
BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician winner Jazz/Classical crossover pianist Ben Shankland joins forces with Scottish Jazz Award-winning violinist/vocalist/arranger/broadcaster Seonaid Aitken to present a celebration of George and Ira Gershwin’s music.
Featuring the 100+ year-old symphonic masterpiece ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ – performed alongside their 9-piece string orchestra – these cross-genre musicians explore the meeting of Jazz and Classical styles in Gershwin’s music with selections from the iconic opera ‘Porgy & Bess’ and favourites such as ‘The Man I Love’, ‘Embraceable You’, ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ and ‘Lady Be Good’.
As well as showcasing Aitken’s cinematic string arrangements, the concert will also include a performance by Jazz piano trio with bassist David Bowden (Fergus McCreadie Trio) highlighting Shankland’s piano mastery in both a Jazz and Classical setting.
https://www.seetickets.com/event/seonaid-aitken-ben-shankland/mackintosh-church/3630462
12 June Friday
Fergus McCreadie ‘Flight Pass’
two sets
Flight Pass, a bold new piano-trio commission from Fergus McCreadie, commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland and Kings Place, London. Known for his electrifying mix of jazz and Scottish folk, McCreadie now brings that sound into a fresh chamber setting for a performance bursting with colour and storytelling
Mercury-shortlisted and widely acclaimed artist, Fergus McCreadie introduces a new work for classical piano trio, Flight Pass, co-commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland where he is Artist in Residence, and Kings Place. Inspired by the landscapes and narratives at the heart of his musical world, it marks an exciting evolution in his writing, extending his musical language into a new chamber setting while retaining the melodic clarity, rhythmic lift and storytelling that define his music.
Fergus writes:
The title of this work comes from one of my favourite photographs, which features a black winged kite and two of his offspring fighting over some recently caught prey in the middle of the sky. I’ve always loved to watch birds in the sky, and I loved the contrast of conflict and kinship in this photograph. That pull gave me the right feeling for giving a title to this work, which pulls and pushes in different directions over its 4 movements. Each movement flows at a different pace, and I leave it to the listener to imagine how the birds and sky might match the music as it grows over the duration.
–About Chamber Music Scotland
Chamber Music Scotland: Celebrating chamber music’s tradition and exploring its future. CMS works with chamber music performers and creators; promoters and audiences; and communities to share and experience music that represents Scotland, its people, places, and culture. Our organisation has a truly national reach and offers space for artist expression and development alongside substantial opportunities for members of the public to engage with our work.
Our work encompasses artist residency programmes, community partnerships, creation of new works, EDI sector development, concert series and touring funding, developmental support, as well as UK and international collaborations. We aim to cultivate an identity for chamber music in Scotland which draws on our places, peoples, and culture and is unique on the world stage. https://www.seetickets.com/event/fergus-mccreadie/mackintosh-church/3630464
