The TUM JazzBand travels abroad
All cases are loaded, our instruments are stowed away in the overhead lockers and our seatbelts are securely fastened. It's time to say "Servus München" and "Hello Edinburgh".
The "Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra" (EUJO) has invited us to visit their university and play two shows together. After we greeted them in Munich in February of 2018 for two great concerts, we didn't wait long to repay that visit! We quickly our booked flights and hostel and came up with a set of tunes to play on our first international stage appearance!
On Monday, the 26th of November, the whole band was finally on the plane to Edinburgh, looking forward to an interesting exchange, delicious culinary highlights and of course - plenty of music! And because we don't take that lightly, we started the week by rehearsing or two days straight. Because who wouldn't want to put on a proper show during their international debut?
On Thursday, the first gig finally arrived. Both bands presented their programme in "La Belle Angèle", one of Edinburgh's many night clubs, which is also where we decided to stay until the early morning hours.
But there were lots of other things to discover besides our musical endeavors. On our hike onto Arthur's Seat, we got assaulted by wind and rain but were rewarded with an incredible view of Edinburgh and its surroundings. We also couldn't pass up the opportunity of a whiskey tasting - professionally guided of course by Mark - the 4th trombonist of the Scottish big band - who to not only study the art of whiskey burning, but also works in a whiskey shop and had quite some knowledge to share with us. Now we know that at each given time, one of our nostrils is more sensitive to smells than the other, and a little background on the different kinds of whiskeys certainly makes them taste even better. Finally, the city of Edinburgh has much to offer as well, including the Castle, Royal Mile, Queen's estate...and of course lots of pubs and music clubs. There was really no reason or opportunity to be bored on this trip.
On Saturday, we ended our trip with a second concert in the students' associations very own jazz bar. We presented our programme again and transitioned into an informal jam session afterward. Many conversations, sponataneous bossa novas, and applications of our newly gained whiskey-expertise are had until we say our final goodbyes and retreat to the hostel one last time to get the little rest we still can before departing to Munich early the next morning.
And so our journey ends. We would like to thank the Chancellor of the TU Munich for his amazing support!