FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 Argyll Media Limited 15

Bute Manouche hits the high notes AFTER A long weekend o f f a b u l o u s m u s i c p l a y e d t o p a c k e d audiences, Scotland’s first Gypsy Jazz Festival, Bute Manouche, is here to stay.

B u t e J a z z C o n c e r t s c h a i r m a n , T i m S a u l , said: “It’s always risky putting on a new event in a small place like Bute but the idea of a Django Reinhardt-inspired music festival struck a chord with people.

“We had sold all our tickets a month ahead of the festival dates and it was extremely gratifying to find the overall age profile was younger with more than 60 per cent of visitors making their first visit to Bute.”

Among the audience w a s T o m F e r g u s o n , formerly of Motherwell, who saw Django Reinhardt

and his younger brother, J o s e p h ‘ N i n - N i n ’ Reinhardt play live at a variety show, probably at the Glasgow Empire in the late 1940s. “He was the best,” said Tom, who also saw the likes of Stephane G r a p p e l l i a n d o t h e r legendary jazz guitarists such as Freddie Green and Jack Llewellyn.

For Tom, a lifelong jazz enthusiast who played guitar in dance bands, the trip to Bute Manouche with his family was a 96th birthday present from his son and daughter.

It was a plane, boat, and train, plus car and bus ride to Rothesay for Dutch couple Toin and L i - j a n n e d e B a r f r o m Amsterdam who attend as many European manouche events as they can, while a couple from The Lizard in Cor nwall took three days to reach the island in their camper van. Visitors travelled from all parts of Scotland and even from the Isle of Wight to attend the event.

Flamingo Swing from

Glasgow set the bar high as they got the festival at Rothesay’s 292 Club of f to a flying start on Friday afternoon. Evening e n t e r t a i n m e n t w a s provided by the Liverpool-b a s e d M a n o u c h e t o n e s comprising Micky Dunne ( g u i t a r ) , K a r l W e b b (guitar) and Grant Russell (bass) who brought their own inter pretations to Django’s great themes.

Saturday afternoon saw a cracking performance from Edinburgh’s Viper Swing who looked the part in their dazzling white tuxedos. Bute’s own Les Gitanes, fronted by Tim Saul, with Paul McKay on bass and Alec Mack on guitar, launched the evening sets with a twist of their own, being joined by Rose Room’s hugely t a l e n t e d v i o l i n i s t a n d vocalist, Seonaid Aitken.

The evening concluded with Havana Swing from Dundee whose bright red shir ts would not have looked out of place at a certain Yokohama rugby match the following day.

Walt Smith star red on clarinet backed by Ray Elrick on bass with some intricate guitar work from Dave Rattray and Kevin Murray.

Manouchetones were on stage again for the first set of Sunday afternoon’s grand finale concert aided and abetted by Flamingo S w i n g ’ s H e l e n J ay n e (violin) and the much in demand Seonaid Aitken.

The climax to a fantastic first festival was in the hands of one of Scotland’s true greats, Rose Room.

They didn’t disappoint as even by their award winning standards they were exce ptional with brilliant perfor mances from all four - in particular Seonaid Aitken with her violin and vocals and Tom Watson on solo guitar - bringing Bute Manouche t o a t h r i l l i n g a n d memorable conclusion.

I t wasn’t just about t h e c o n c e r t s – t h e r e w e r e b e g i n n e r s a n d i n t e r m e d i a t e g u i t a r workshops on Saturday morning taken by Tim Saul

and Micky Dunne while the very busy Seonaid Aitken coached budding violinists on Sunday morning. The bar of the 292 Club was heaving long after the concerts had finished with professional and amateur musicians jamming into the wee small hours.

T i m c o m m e n t e d : “ A u d i e n c e f e e d b a c k has been very positive and many visitors have commented on the intimate surroundings of the 292 Club which provided a g r e a t a t m o s p h e r e f o r players and audience alike.

“With some 75 per cent of tickets being sold off-island, the event has also provided some welcome extra business for hotels, guest houses, pubs and restaurants at the start of the much quieter winter season.”

He added: “The dust hasn’t even settled yet but we are already circling dates in our diaries for a similar event next year. Here’s to Bute Manouche 2020.”

By Mike Archboldeditorial@argyllmedia.co.uk

Alec Mack of Les Gitanes

A Manouche workshop Seonaid Aitken of Rose Room