Brian Kellock & Liane Carroll have been hailed
as "British Jazz's greatest double act."

We are pleased to announce their first tour in Scotland as follows:

29 October - Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline
7.30pm, Tickets: www.attfife.org.uk

30 and 31 October - Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
(live recording), 8pm, Tickets: www.jazzaberdeen.com

1 November - Bathgate Regal
7.30pm, Tickets: www.bathgateregal.org.uk

9 November - Eden Court, Inverness
7.30pm, Tickets: www.eden-court.co.uk

10 November - Redrooms, Perth Theatre
8pm, Tickets: www.horsecross.co.uk

20 November - Strathclyde Suite, GRCH
8pm, Tickets: www.glasgowconcerthalls.com

21 November - The Lot, Edinburgh
In association with Jazz International,
8pm, Tickets: www.thequeenshall.net

22 November - Hospitalfield, Arbroath
8pm, Tickets: 01382 774648

Live recording sponsored by the Scottish Arts Council. 

First Scottish Arts Council Tune Up award for Thick-Skinned Productions.

Julian Arguelles with ECM star John Abercrombie touring May 2009

We are delighted to announce a tour of Scotland featuring saxophonist and composer Julian Arguelles with ECM guitar legend, John Abercrombie. They will be joined by Michael Formanek on double bass and Tom Rainey on drums. The tour is part of the Scottish Arts Council's Tune Up and a first for Thick-Skinned! Keep an eye on this site for more details. Tour scheduled for early May 2009.

Ryan Quigley wins Jazz Services Promoter's Choice Award 2008!

Nominated by Jill Roger, Glasgow International Jazz Festival. Performing at QEH, London Jazz Festival 23 November.

After an astounding, sell out performance at this year's Glasgow International Jazz Festival on the Homegrown stage, Ryan was nominated by Jill Roger, the festival director, for a Jazz Services Promoter's Choice Award and won! He will perform as part of this year's London Jazz Festival on 23 November at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and has been given £2500 towards the cost of a UK tour with his sextet. We are delighted that Ryan is now managed by Thick-Skinned. Watch this space for more information on his tour and other amazing projects scheduled for Ryan in 2009.

Brian Kellock and Julian Arguelles
Duo CD available via this website late October

We have just recorded Brian Kellock's first CD as a leader for over 5 years at the Thick-Skinned Studio, Sound Cafe, Penicuik. Special guest on the CD is award winning saxophonist and composer Julian Arguelles. We are very pleased with the results...a stunning CD that will be available to buy through this website at the end of October and at all Brian's gigs.

Hero as a Riddle - Martin Kershaw

We are currently delighted to be managing saxophonist and composer Martin Kershaw's new project. Hero as a Riddle is inspired by the artwork of Leith born artists Eduardo Paolozzi.

Martin Kershaw has been based in Scotland for the past 9 years and is fully integrated into the Scottish Jazz Scene. He is a member of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, runs his own bands, and is a composer, session musician and teacher. He is delighted to be amongst the first recipients of the Scottish Arts Council’s New Music award. In his career Martin has always tried to explore as many different styles as possible and this is reflected in the musicians he has worked with and written for. It will also be evident in the music he writes for this project. The concert performances for this project will include projected images of Paolozzi’s work.

Performance Dates Confirmed:
31 October - Aberdeen Art Gallery. 7.30pm
Pre-concert talk, 8.30pm concert at the Cowdry Hall.
Tickets: www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

5 November - Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, 6.45pm
pre-concert talk, 8.30pm concert in the One Touch Theatre, Tickets: www.eden-court.co.uk

7 November - Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. 7.30pm
pre-concert talk, 8pm concert.
Tickets: www.thequeenshall.net

Sponsored by the Scottish Arts Council's New Music fund.

EDUCATION NEWS

Recording Opportunities for Young People

Highly successful Pilot in Edinburgh. Radio play for young bands, concerts... We successfully created an exciting opportunity for young people to gain practical experience from music industry professionals specifically in pre and post production, arranging, recording and mixing. The project started in February and included bands from 3 schools in Edinburgh. We are grateful to the SAC's YMI fund for their financial support with this pilot. One of our bands achieved radio play and they all produced and recorded songs, set up websites and we are receiving reports that there has been a marked increase in the number of bands within each school. We hope to continue this project in schools throughout Edinburgh with a view to expanding into regions across Scotland in 2009.

Jazz Development project great success

Every one of the pupils taking part in this 8 week programme were composing by the end. We have created a programme giving positive experience to music students through practical exercise and knowledge of jazz theory and harmony. 100%, of the 36 students taking part, wrote and performed 1 piece of their own music throughout this 8 week course. They all know more scales than they did at the start giving them more freedom to improvise. They also gained practical experience in how improvisation relates to composition. Students experienced performing their own compositions in a group in front of an audience. We hope to develop this course further in the coming months.