Jim Mullen

Jim Mullen with Peter Johnstone and Alyn Cosker Two generations of grooving Scottish jazz mastery combine in this mouthwatering prospect. Jim Mullen is one of the most distinctive guitarists in jazz, a player whose instantly recognisable thumb-picking style and soulful, bluesy phrasing have an almost vocal quality. A native Glaswegian, Mullen moved to London in the late 1960s and worked with Cream lyricist Pete Brown before joining acid jazz godfather Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express and soul-funk band Kokomo. A period in New York led to work with the Average White Band and flautist Herbie Mann and the formation of the hugely popular, long-running jazz-funk band Morrissey-Mullen with saxophonist Dick Morrissey. Mullen has since played and recorded with a host of top names including big-swinging pianist Gene Harris, blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and Chicago folk-jazz poet Terry Callier, who described Mullen as “God”. Peter Johnstone's reputation as a Hammond organ virtuoso has grown with the formation of his International Organ Quartet, featuring New York vibes marvel Joe Locke, saxophonist Tommy Smith and drummer Alyn Cosker, and his work with guitarist Nigel Price and saxophonist Paul Towndrow. Already internationally acclaimed as the phenomenal pianist with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and Tommy Smith’s ‘Coltrane’ quartet, Johnstone is a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and a Yamaha Scholarship holder whose keyboard creativity is unfailingly exciting and spontaneous. With a range of experience that includes gigs with Steely Dan guitarist Larry Carlton, singer Carol Kidd, pop-soulsters Hue & Cry and Gaelic folk rockers Capercaillie, Alyn Cosker is one of the most in-demand drummers in the UK. As well as providing the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra’s dynamic heartbeat, he leads his own group and is an accomplished composer with two albums under his own name. 7:30 pm doors, 8:00 pm start time Over 14s, under 16s to accompanied by an adult over 18 Festival website: www.jazzfest.co.uk