Scottish jazz guitarist and singer Aki Remally, who also performed in the Hendrix & Us show at this year’s Fringe, brings the music of black conscious American poet and author Gil Scott-Heron back to Edinburgh for a sell-out show.
Along with Fraser Urquhart on keys they deliver an early set highlight during Lady Day and John Coltrane. The impressive Max Pop on drums and Tom Wilkinson on bass underpin Remally and Urquhart allowing them to deliver some impressive solos and individual talent. Things slow right down with the reflective Pieces Of A Man, here the band manage to summon the spirit and essence of the great man known as the godfather of hip-hop who also was a spokesperson and activist for people living under poverty and oppression.
Winter In America is a surprise addition, perhaps not the most obvious choice but the 1974 track recorded with keyboardist Brian Jackson is another standout. The band lock into a funky grove for Heron’s breakthrough classic and set-closer The Bottle. It’s a curious fact that Heron’s father Gilbert Saint Elmo Heron left America when his son was a child, to play for Celtic.
The Jamaican professional, known as the Black Arrow, was the first black player to join the club and later signed for Third Lanark.
The Gil Scot-Heron Songbook, The Jazz Bar
