Capital's summer festivals kick off with all that jazz

From pub trail to UK's biggest independent jazz festival, how one man's vision brings international stars to Edinburgh

Through the decades of its existence, it’s seen a galaxy of stars from all over the world perform - and this year’s Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival will kick off tomorrow with a host of performances scattered across the city, writes Sarah McArthur.

After nearly fifty years, from the 1970s up till now, the festival has grown from a grassroots pub trail to the largest independent jazz festival in the UK and one of the most respected in Europe. 

The Edinburgh Jazz Festival, as it was initially named, was started by guitarist and banjo player Mike Hart in 1978. Hart had been inspired by visiting the Sacramento Jazz Festival earlier in the year. The original festival included an opening ball, a free-entry “jazz trail” through pubs in Edinburgh, and a couple of paid performances. It was also an international affair from the beginning; with artists from England, France and the USA alongside Scottish jazz players. 

The festival quickly gained momentum and prowess. By 1995, the festival was hosting the iconic Van Morrison along with the BBC Big Band. This same year, Hart, who was still running the festival, was awarded an MBE for his services to music. 

By the end of the 90s the Jazz Festival had absorbed Blues into its name and was staging 100 performances each year. In the 2000s the festival held satellite performances outside of Edinburgh and, in line with the opening of the Jazz Bar, the presence and quality of Scottish jazz artists took on a new level. 

In the last decade, funding from the City Council’s Place Fund has allowed the festival to grow even further, expanding from a once a year festival with a part-time team to a year round enterprise. EJBF now organises regular mini-festivals, Edinburgh Carnival and a whole variety of regular workshops and music groups. 

Stéphane Grappelli, BB King, Acker Bilk, Dionne Warwick, Humphrey Littleton, Georgie Fame and Elkie Brooks were among those big names to appear over the years.

Today, nearly fifty years later, this year’s festival still aims to bring Scottish jazz to a global stage, and bring international jazz to a local audience.