Written by The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is one of the largest jazz and blues festivals in Europe and consistently showcases an incredible array of talent from across the world. Founded in 1978, the diversity of the music programmed ensures that all audiences are catered for, from ragtime to bebop to contemporary jazz and everything in between, while also introducing new music and new artists to inspire and open minds.
Scottish musicians are of course, quite rightly, at the heart of the festival, and the organisers are committed to not only supporting established Scottish musicians but developing and supporting the new and emerging talent that is so beautifully rich in Scotland. This year’s lineup gave us inspiring Scottish stars including Marianne MacGregor, Seonaid Aitken and of course, Fergus McCreadie.
For 2026, we are also presented with a very special partnership with the incredible SPARK: Jazz From The Netherlands. Funded by the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Scottish Government’s EXPO Fund, and delivered in partnership with injazz / Buma Cultuur and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United Kingdom, SPARK was a very welcome addition to this year’s festival.
A relatively new initiative, SPARK introduces both emerging and internationally acclaimed artists to Scotland and is growing from strength to strength. Beginning in 2022 with a partnership with Italy, followed by Norway, Czechia, Luxembourg and now this year, the Netherlands, with a truly inspiring lineup including pianist, composer and educator, Harmen Fraanje, who has built a highly respected reputation for his contemporary jazz work especially with ECM, Dutch Jazz legend, guitarist Jesse van Ruller, partnering with rising star Maarten Hogenhuis, and award winning trumpeter Peter Somuah who is known for his cross-genre compositions with flavours of traditional Ghanaian music, funk, jazz and electronica.
I was thrilled to be invited to meet two of the female artists performing at this year’s festival – Femke Mooren and Yanna Pelser – and experience the incredible jazz from the Netherlands.
Saxophonist Femke Mooren won the Princess Christina Jazz Competition in 2023, followed by the Women in Jazz Prize, and has been taking full advantage of the opportunities that have been presented to her. Femke received funding to release her first album Mora, in March of this year which included seven of her own compositions. With some incredible reviews already – ‘an extraordinarily poetic solo, in which she surpasses quite a few fellow saxophonists’, ‘an extremely strong debut from a bandleader and saxophonist who will certainly surprise us musically many times in the near future!’ – the future is looking so very exciting for this incredible saxophonist.
In a unique collaboration for the festival, SPARK teamed Femke with Scottish musicians Ali Watson (bass), Simon Herberholz (tenor saxophone) and Greg Irons (drums). Watching their performance, you would have never known they had only just met. The communication and chemistry was very exciting. This is one of the many wonderful elements to the SPARK programme, forging new relationships and opportunities while supporting the development of musicians. ‘To be honest, I was a little nervous beforehand. Not only working with new musicians but it was also a new formation for me. Normally I play with a piano or guitar, some harmony, so this was a completely new concept for me. How does that work? How do I still find my sound? Are the people nice and could we fit well together? I met with Ali for a drink and chat beforehand and immediately felt more relaxed and I left feeling comfortable and calm- and ready. ‘
It was Femke’s first time in Scotland and she took full advantage of the quick trip, exploring Edinburgh. ‘For me it was really nice because I love walking around by myself and there’s a castle and hills and everything looked like a fairy tale. When I went for a coffee, all the people that I met were up for a chat and it felt really nice in the city.’
Musicians are carefully selected to take part in the project, taking into account musical styles and approaches and Femke was thrilled to be selected. ‘This was the first time Spark have worked with the Netherlands. I went to the conference and they were talking to a lot of Dutch artists and I hope to do more with them. I would also love to stay in touch with the Scottish musicians and Gerard ( Gerard Mehigan, Arts Management at Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival) because also the nice thing about this is you make connections and meet people. This really helps with my career’
The Netherlands has garnered a reputation for artist innovation and the development of new music, and has a significant experimental scene. Dutch trio Ponga with Yanna Pelser (viola/ vocals) Remco Menting (drums/percussion) and Timon Koomen (guitar) brought something very special to The Jazz Bar as part of the festival. The experimental and free jazz scene in Edinburgh is small but mighty, and if the audience’s reception to Ponga is anything to go by, it is ready to explode.
Ponga use their theatrical shared background to create unexpected soundscapes crossing a range of genres from rock, jazz and classical music, continually moving between harmonic, melodic and percussive spaces. Their performance was truly electrifying.
A really exciting artist, classically trained violist and composer Yanna Pelser already has a significant portfolio, including working with North Sea String Quartet, Tyn Wybenga’s Brainteaser Orchestra and Ambrose Akinmusire. With a range of projects on the go, it was fascinating to talk to Yanna about the spaces she works in. ‘I consider myself a hybrid artist. I join in with my voice playing viola together in certain contexts and have some singer/songwriter projects, but I also have a project which is more towards contemporary classical idiom mixed with folk influences. I would say I’m like the water that flows in between everything. But the word hybrid kind of covers it – taking things from everywhere. I follow my curiosity.’
Ponga work in the experimental field and Yanna explained that they decide on the shape of the set just before they perform. It could be completely improvised, or a few tunes as a starting point. Engaging with the audience is a key element to the performance and I was fascinated to hear about a guest book. ‘Sometimes if the space allows it, we start by walking around playing tubes that when you swirl them, make sounds, trying to involve the audience already. We also usually have a guest book with us and during the show we ask the audience to write a message to the next audience. Then we read the messages out to the next audience and it’s so nice and feels like we are connecting audiences.’
It was really incredible. Starting at the back of the venue Ponga opened their gig swinging melodic tubes, working their way through the audience to the stage. People were captivated and that feeling stayed with them throughout the gig. Although mostly improvised, there was an incredible tightness to their performance, but coming from shared emotions, rather than any specifically planned timing. It was quite wonderful to watch and feel and their chemistry was palpable.
Look out for the full interviews with Yanna and Femke coming out soon.
The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and Spark must be congratulated and celebrated for the inspiring work they are doing. Sharing music from across the world and giving artists so many much needed opportunities, is significant. Anyone fortunate enough to experience the live performances this year, will have left feeling uplifted and exhilarated.
More of this please!
Photos by Ben Glasgow
This article was first published in the July 2026 Women in Jazz Media Magazine
Last modified: August 20, 2026
